Land Use and Housing Committee Meeting - January 11, 2024
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Land Use and Housing Committee Meeting - January 11, 2024
The Land Use and Housing Committee of the San Diego City Council met on January 11, 2024, to approve previous committee actions, review a consent agenda, discuss a lease agreement with the San Diego Community College District, and set committee priorities for 2024. The meeting was chaired by Councilmember Lee, with Vice Chair Lakava and Councilmembers Whitburn and Moreno present. Mayor's office staff announced progress on affordable housing permits and a new executive order.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Committee Actions (November 16, 2023): Approved unanimously (4-0) after one public comment urging enforcement of deed restrictions to prevent landlord loopholes that could put tenants at risk of homelessness.
- Consent Agenda Items (1-8): Approved unanimously (4-0) after one public comment criticizing city spending priorities as not genuinely helping the community.
Public Comments & Testimony
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Non-Agenda Public Comment: Several speakers addressed matters within the committee's jurisdiction:
- Dan Smikowski advocated for Brown Field as an ideal location for Sunbreak Ranch and mentioned his mayoral candidacy.
- Terry Ann Skelly expressed concern about marijuana storefronts and their impact on youth mental health, urging the city to focus on businesses that enhance health and safety.
- Barbara Gordon urged adoption of a smoke-free policy prohibiting smoking in all public spaces to protect public health and reduce plastic pollution.
- A speaker identified as "the original" criticized dense development in high-pollution areas and high-fire zones, warning of value capture raising property taxes and harming residents.
- Peggy Walker highlighted low workforce return rates among 18-25 year-olds and asked the city to concentrate land resources on uses that support employment rather than marijuana businesses.
- Kathleen Lippett questioned whether city priorities reflect community priorities, noted that all behavioral health problems the city addresses have worsened, and opposed normalization of marijuana.
- Judy Strang urged the city to prohibit marijuana advertising, which she said misleads young people.
- Blair B. spoke about the importance of openness and accountability in local governance, particularly regarding the Israel-Gaza situation.
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Item 10 (2024 Priorities): Public commenters included:
- Jeffrey Huyder (representing a planning group) submitted a detailed work plan, recommending form-based codes, land turnover policies to create urgency for development, and focus on Blueprint San Diego design elements.
- Courtney Baltiski (YMCA of San Diego County) celebrated child care as a named priority and urged funding for tenant improvements to implement Measure H (licensed child care in park and rec facilities).
- Blair B. supported mixed-income housing concepts and hoped for open public discussion.
- A speaker identified as "the original" criticized housing policies as creating an illusion of progress while failing to meet the need for 108,000 units, and warned against forced density.
- Kathleen Lippett asked the committee to reconsider automatic five-year extensions for cannabis outlet permits, citing industry non-compliance and health harms from high-THC products.
Discussion Items
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Item 9: Lease Agreement with San Diego Community College District Staff requested approval of a three-year flat-rate lease for an aircraft hangar at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, including a waiver of the Zembop (Zero Emissions Building Ordinance) language because the lease was negotiated before the policy applied. Vice Chair Lakava opposed the waiver, arguing Zembop should apply and that the rationale (lease ending in 2033) is insufficient; he noted Zembop does not require action unless replacements are made. Heather Werner (Deputy Director of Energy and Sustainability) explained that the property has no fossil fuel systems and likely uses 100% renewable energy via San Diego Community Power, making Zembop effectively inapplicable. Councilmember Whitburn questioned why a waiver is needed if Zembop will never be triggered. Chair Lee moved to accept staff's recommendation, noting the complexity of the timing. The item passed 3-1, with Vice Chair Lakava voting no.
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Item 10: 2024 Committee Priorities This information item allowed committee members to present their priorities for the year:
- Councilmember Moreno emphasized middle-income housing (only 62 moderate-income units built in 2021-2022), a pilot first-time homebuyer program, and regular homelessness updates.
- Vice Chair Lakava stressed enforcing Zembop, homelessness initiatives (recuperative care, update on 10,000-unit goal on government land, shelter expansion), affordable housing preservation, design review, child care zoning, tactical urbanism, and banning drive-throughs in transit priority areas.
- Councilmember Whitburn focused on continuing the momentum on homelessness (safe sleeping sites near capacity, need for more shelter beds) and accelerating affordable housing through streamlined regulations and land turnover.
- Chair Lee highlighted homeownership opportunities, middle-income housing, preserving existing housing, implementing state laws, and reviewing IBA reports. A public survey for priorities was announced.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Committee actions of November 16, 2023 (4-0).
- Approved: Consent items 1-8 (4-0).
- Approved: Item 9 (lease with SDCCD) with waiver of Zembop language (3-1; Vice Chair Lakava dissenting).
- No Vote: Item 10 (information only); committee members outlined priorities; Chair Lee will collect input via memo and public survey.
- Announcements: Mayor's Office reported that 16 affordable housing projects (2,063 deed-restricted homes) were reviewed and approved within 30 days per executive order, and a new executive order extends the same timeline to complete communities projects. The mid-city community plan update has begun.
- Next Meeting: Thursday, February 1, 2024, at 1:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Housing committee meeting of January 11th, 2024. Our committee lays on Natalie Kessler will go over instructions for today's meeting. Thank you, Chair. While members of the public are able to attend the meetings in person, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and the council administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual queue by raising their hand before the virtual queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking or five minutes after in-person testimony ends, whichever occurs first. Additionally, during the consent portion of the agenda, speakers will have one minute per item up to a maximum of three minutes if there are three or more items in that portion of the agenda. This will allow for better meeting management between the two platforms and ensure the committee is able to manage and conduct city business. We appreciate the public's cooperation. Chair. I will now call the Lanuson Housing Committee meeting of Thursday, January 11th, 2024 to order. Natalie, please call the rule. Vice Chair Lakava. Present. Councilmember Whitburn. Sure. Councilmember McMureno, excuse me. Present. And Chair, Councilmember Lee. Here. And also attending the meeting today, we have Chris Ackerman of Vila with the Mayor's Office. Noah Brazier from the City Attorney's Office. Raishin Chen with the independent budget analysts' office, and Natalie Kessler, our committee liaison. Natalie, will you please continue with the public comment instructions? If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it on top of the box indicated at the speaker's lectern at the front of the room. Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management. In-person testimony will conclude before virtual testimony begins. Members of the public can also join the webinar by computer, tablet, or smartphone by accessing the link, which is located online in the preamble language of the agenda on the city's webpage. To join the Zoom webinar by telephone, please dial 1669-2545252. The webinar ID is 160-268-5157 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. Please note that if you are watching via City TV 24 or online, there may be a delay. Please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or computer when it is your turn to speak. If you wish to speak on a particular item, please wait for that item to be called and then raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon. Or if you're a call-in participant, press star nine on your phone. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. Chair. Thank you, Natalie, for reviewing those instructions for the benefit of the public. A quorum is now present. We will now dispense with the approval of the committee actions of November 16th, 2023. Natalie, please proceed. Thank you, Chair. The public comment period for the committee actions is now opened. If you join the Zoom webinar online or by phone and wish to speak to the past committee actions of November 16th, 2023, please raise your hand at this time, and each speaker will have one minute. Chair, we have not received any speakers for those in chambers, so we will move to the virtual queue. We do have one hand raised for the past committee actions. The original, please provide your comments. You'll have one minute. But I mean, if we're, you know uh making it deed restricted, you need to be ensuring that it is and that these people aren't suffering the consequences of the loopholes that the landlords are finding and um potentially putting them at risk for homelessness again. So that's something that should be on top of your list as well.
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