Category: Economy

Former top city planner Michael Stepner says more housing is needed but it should be compatible with existing communities

By Michael Smolens / San Diego Union-Tribune / May 9, 2025

The city of San Diego is downshifting on its permissive rules encouraging backyard apartments.

That raises the question of whether a desire for more “gentle development” will spread to some of the city’s other aggressive housing policies.

Last week, the city Planning Commission strongly supported an effort to roll back some of the extreme aspects of the backyard apartment program.

Several years ago, when the city began loosening restrictions on building accessory dwelling units, as they’re officially called, the idea seemed to be one or two apartments on a single-family-home property, possibly three in some cases.

Projects with double-digit units allowed under the laws aren’t what people had in mind. For example, one ADU development in Clairemont has 17 apartments, and even larger projects are in the pipeline, particularly in Encanto.

“This is not the way I envisioned ADUs would work,” Commissioner Ken Malbrough said, as reported by David Garrick of The San Diego Union-Tribune. “I want housing, but I don’t want to ruin neighborhoods.”

By Olivia Harden / SFGate / May 5, 2025

Ocean Beach is a ‘Hot Spot’ for Law’s Enforcement

Police in San Diego revealed they have written thousands of tickets in the last two months, fining drivers over $100 for a controversial law that other cities, including San Francisco, have decided is too difficult to enforce.

The San Diego Police Department’s Parking Enforcement team has issued 4,200 tickets to drivers who violated California’s new daylighting law, the department’s supervisor Erin Longen told SFGATE in an email. The law, Assembly Bill 413 that began being enforced on March 1, prohibits drivers from parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk. It applies to all crosswalks — including unmarked crosswalks without white lines on the street. Many curbs are not painted red to the full 20 feet, creating confusion for some drivers.

Longen told KUSI-TV that tickets are most commonly written in extremely popular neighborhoods like La Jolla. The beach is well-liked by travelers and among the most visited in the city. Other hot spots for ticketing include Normal Heights, North Park, Hillcrest, University Heights, Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach. Prior to the beginning of the enforcement period, the city gave out 1,500 warning tickets in an effort to educate the public.

By Joni Halpern

Among the books of old, old stories, there is one that stands out to followers and non-followers of religion.  It is the story of a gentle, but firm adherent to a way of life so revolutionary that despite its call for compassion toward all, including our enemies, it was treated like an insurgency.  Its leader was condemned, its followers persecuted, its goal of fidelity to a God who loves us all still evading humanity more than 2,000 years later.

Today, people who claim to be ardent followers of this way of life have endorsed a new American leadership so bereft of compassion, so devoid of mercy, that it bears no resemblance at all to the life these followers say they want to emulate.  Instead, the followers of our  contemporary American Heathens embrace the promise of power and wealth, the hatred of all who cannot serve the goals of personal enrichment and political grandiosity, and the denigration of all who believe differently than they, no matter how decent those labeled as “liberal” or “woke” might be.  These followers of the new Deities of the Cold-Hearted have breathed deeply the gust of arrogance that arises from the condemnation and humiliation of others, filling their lungs with righteousness of a very different kind than that of the humble person crucified like a criminal so long ago.

Oddly, many of our New Charlatans’ followers believe they are acting out the mandates of the One Who Loved Us All, the ancient no-nonsense teacher who never claimed a denarius, never walked past a person in need, never turned his back on the unwanted or unwelcome.  Yet many of these followers have either endorsed or stood idly by

By Mark Powell / Times of San Diego / May 6, 2025

As San Diegans continue to struggle with the rising cost of housing, a new financial burden has made its way into our monthly expenses. If you own a single-family home in San Diego, you will now have to pay to have your trash picked up.

This will have a long-lasting impact on both home affordability and the rental market. In other words, it will make homes and housing less affordable.

The city of San Diego’s proposed trash collection fee, which was pitched to voters as a modest cost-recovery measure, is now estimated to be around $50 a month. While that might not seem like much to some, for many working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and first-time homebuyers, this seemingly minor monthly charge could be the tipping point that pushes homeownership out of reach.

Every $50 increase in monthly household expenses can reduce a buyer’s purchasing power by $8,000 to $10,000. That’s not an opinion; it’s a fact based on interest rates and mortgage qualification formulas used by lenders.

It’s city budget time in San Diego (and elsewhere) and that means the head executive (Mayor Gloria) presents his budget for discussion to the legislature (city council) and they and their constituents then bob heads for several weeks in response, and the electeds all come back together and finalize the final financial plan.

Although this is 2025, so that means we’re in for a “mean” budget (in both senses of the word) because San Diego voters refused back in November to pass Gloria’s tax measure and he’s now in a mood to punish the rest of the city for this miscreant act. (See below for the budget)

So, the process is basic: the chief exec proposes all kinds of cut-backs to favored programs and services — and then the screaming begins, with those with the loudest objections are handed some relief, but those other program cuts are then enacted.

And this year, there’s another new wrinkle. City Council members are concerned that Gloria called the spending plan he released April 15 a “draft” budget instead of a full-blown “proposed” budget ready for debate and haggling. As David Garrick at the U-T explained:

The mayor’s subtle shift in terminology appears to begin the next front in an ongoing war between the mayor and council for control and influence over the city budget. The new battle comes at a crucial time, with the city facing deep cuts and potentially significant employee layoffs for the first time since the aftermath of the Great Recession 15 years ago.

By Geoff Page

Ocean Beach will soon have a big empty eye sore right on Sunset Cliffs Blvd. The Rite Aid store, with an address of 4840 Niagara, will soon be a shuttered shell. A very big shuttered shell. Its closure was confirmed.

Rita Aid has filed for its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the first was in 2023. The result this time appears to be liquidation or sale to another company. These proceedings can take a long time so, until it all shakes out, the building will eventually end up closed and empty.

Rite Aid has said it is committed to keeping the stores open during the bankruptcy process. The pharmacies will keep operating in-store and on-line for now. But, the remainder of the available inventory in the store will slowly disappear and not be restocked.

Long time OB residents may remember when the building was a grocery store, the Mayfair Market. It was one of only two large scale grocery stores in OB at that time. The other was the Safeway on Santa Monica and Cable, later the Apple Tree Market, before it became CVS.

For years, construction projects were not conducted in San Diego’s coastal communities from Memorial Day to Labor Day to reduce potential impacts during the busy tourism season.

But now it’s over.

The summer construction moratorium in beach areas was considered an annual reprieve from building-related noise and traffic interruptions.

According to a memo from the city Engineering & Capital Projects Department to the Development Services Department, the summer moratorium will “no longer be enforced by the city for private and public construction,” starting this year.

Now, the construction ban is being discontinued to allow for “timely completion of projects.”

The memo stated:

“The primary objectives of removing this [summer moratorium] policy within the city’s jurisdiction is twofold: to allow for timely completion of projects and to increase efficiency in project completion in these areas. This change is intended to streamline project delivery within city rights of way while minimizing disruptions to the community by avoiding prolonged construction timelines.

Upwards of a thousand San Diegans rallied and marched on Thursday, May 1, for International Workers Day, shining light on a number of local unions involved in fights with management and on the contributions by immigrants to the nation. They rallied in Hillcrest, Balboa Park, at Chicano Park and at the Waterfront Park at the bay.

Nearly a 1,000 demonstrators marched in the morning through the streets from UC San Diego Hillcrest Medical Center to Balboa Park. Later in the day at Waterfront Park, dozens protested and then at night, hundreds rallied at Chicano Park.

Demonstrations occurred across the country — and the world in honor of workers.

The U-T reported:

At the hospital in Hillcrest, hundreds of UC San Diego Health system employees — including tech support specialists, pharmacists and patient ambassadors — gathered around 10 a.m. near the hospital’s entrance to demand better pay and work conditions during a one-day strike.

By Todd Walters

May Day is a global day of action to recognize and uplift working people. Here in San Diego, it’s a moment to reflect on our progress and renew our fight for fairness, respect, and dignity on the job. At UFCW Local 135, our members are standing strong and united— whether they work in grocery stores, healthcare, cannabis, or anywhere else.

They’re ready for the fight. And they’re rising together.

Our grocery members—more than 7,000 strong—are currently in contract negotiations with Vons/Pavilions, Albertsons, Ralphs and Stater Bros. These workers kept our communities fed through the pandemic and beyond. Now, they’re demanding a contract that reflects their hard work and the rising cost of living. Alongside our sister locals across the region, we are part of a powerful 65,000-member strong Southern California grocery bargaining unit. Together, we are demanding real raises, improved staffing, and better benefits. We’re not backing down—Grocery Workers Are Rising.

Unfortunately, we’re also facing major roadblocks at the bargaining table with one of the grocery companies: Stater Bros.

by Kate Callen and Paul Krueger / Times of San Diego / April 30, 2025

The San Diego Community Coalition will make its public debut May 1 by addressing the San Diego Planning Commission when it discusses proposed changes to the controversial “Bonus ADU” ordinance.

The coalition is a citywide network of neighborhood activists focused on two interconnected issues:

Overbuilding in residential neighborhoods — from mid-rise towers to giant multi-unit ADU complexes — which erodes our urban infrastructure and produces minimal affordable housing.

City Hall’s disrespect for constituents, its refusal to engage the public in open dialogue, and its suppression of community planning groups.

So far, the coalition includes activist leaders in 15 communities: Bay Ho, City Heights, Clairemont, College Area, Encanto, Golden Hill, Linda Vista, Middletown, Mission Hills, North Park, Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Pacific Beach, Talmadge and University City.

The Community Planners Committee (CPC) is an officially-recognized body of leaders from all of San Diego’s official community planning boards. It now has jumped into the fray of reforming the city’s Bonus ADU Program with the following recommendations expressed in this letter addressed to the San Diego City Council, dated April 24, 2025, and signed by Andrea Schlegeter, chair of the CPC.

To San Diego City Council

When setting out to provide recommendations for changes to the Bonus Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Program the Community Planners Committee (CPC) followed three guiding principals: adhere to state law, treat all development applicants equally, and find a way to address the lag in affordable housing at the lower end of the Area Median Income (AMI) scale.

To follow the first guiding principal, the City and the State should be held at their word and to the reasoning for increased density. SB 9 is the overriding state legislation for single family lots (RS zone), which allows for lots to be split. Pairing this with the state ADU regulations every RS zoned lot can have a primary residence, an ADU, a Junior ADU (JADU), and a bonus ADU.

Thus the CPC has come up with a “4 means 4” proposal. This is the simplest way of adhering to state law, while clarifying what the max density in RS zones is.

There are many good arguments in favor of capping density in RS zones at four.

Well, we’re finally here. The first hundred days of Trump’s authoritarian regime. What do we have?

Amidst falling stock markets and his “Day of Liberation” of tariffs, Trump’s poll numbers on just about every issue are crashing. And crashing badly.

An average of different polls on his job approval rating at 100 days has Trump at the lowest level of any other president in 70 years. That average has him at a 43% approval rating with a 54% of disapproval. Some polls, like the recent Washington Post / ABC / Ipso poll, have him down to a 39% approval raring.

Economists are predicting empty shelves in markets across the country within a couple of weeks, especially if the tariff war with China continues; some are predicting a recession by summer. On trade and tariffs, the poll averages have 39% of Americans approving and 61% disapproving.

He’s under the water on every issue.