What's in the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance to be Presented to the Board of Supervisors?

Media
May 15
3 min read

Low income housing coming to Bonita-Sunnyside

The Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requires new market-rate housing developments to include affordable housing when they are built. It is a common tool to create affordable housing and has been adopted by most cities in San Diego County. This draft ordinance has not yet been adopted, but will be going to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on June 24, 2026.

On Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 6:00-7:00pm, there will be a webinar about the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance that will be presented to the Board of Supervisors. Register for the Webinar

The County of San Diego Planning & Development Services Department (PDS) is conducting an Inclusionary Housing Study and Ordinance Development. The purpose of this project is to assess feasible options for requiring housing projects to provide affordable housing, and develop an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance that addresses the County’s housing needs. The overall goal is to expand the supply of affordable housing for households of lower- and moderate-income.  

RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) is a California state mandate that requires local cities and counties to plan for their fair share of housing growth across all income levels. It dictates zoning targets over eight-year cycles but does not require the government to directly build homes.—California Housing and Community Development

Inclusionary Housing Ordinance Policy Options | Click on image to enlarge

In addition to the three Options described above, the Board has flexibility to customize the Draft Ordinance by selecting and combining various components from the presented Options. This could include specific set-aside requirements, minimum project sizes, alternative compliance methods, and incentives or selecting a certain geography in which to apply the ordinance.

August 28, 2024 Ordinance

Since the adoption of the Housing Element for 2021 – 2029, housing production has exceeded the annual average needed to meet the County's RHNA goals. However, production in the Very Low income range has not kept pace and is below the annual average needed to achieve the County’s RHNA goal (16% of the Very Low income RHNA goal achieved to date, Table 1).

The primary goal of inclusionary housing programs is to expand the supply of affordable housing and support the creation of more economically diverse, inclusive, and resilient communities while not slowing overall housing production.

The Board directed staff to develop the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (Draft Ordinance) to apply to all residential projects proposing above a selected number of housing units (February 10, 2021 (4))and to capture land value increases from General Plan Amendment (GPA) projects seeking substantial increases in residential density by requiring these projects to provide additional affordable housing through the Draft Ordinance (August 31, 2021).

Attachments

Note: Due to the size of the attachments, the documents are available online through the Clerk of the Board's website at www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/cob/bosa.html.

Attachment A – Draft Inclusionary Housing Ordinance Clean

Attachment B – Draft Inclusionary Housing Ordinance Strikeout

Attachment C – Draft In-Lieu Fee Ordinance Clean

Attachment D – Draft In-Lieu Fee Ordinance Strikeout

Attachment E – Environmental Document

Attachment F – Inclusionary Housing Economic Analysis

Attachment G – Economic Analysis Summary

Attachment H – Handout/Summary of Set-Aside Options

Attachment I – Best Practices Summary Table

Attachment J – Summary of Outreach Activities

Attachment K – Public Comments

Attachment L – Analysis of Ordinance Component Options