Homeless advocates and housing groups oppose Gloria’s housing plans

As part of his address to the city on Wednesday, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria announced the signing of an executive order to dramatically accelerate the approval of 100 percent affordable housing projects.

“The truth is that a lot of people are worried about rising rents, which could make them homeless,” Gloria said in an interview with KPBS Midday Edition on Thursday. “I think a lot of people are frustrated at not being able to become homeowners in San Diego, perhaps worried that their children and grandchildren are moving away.”

But Gloria’s plan is already being rebuffed.

“The apartments his policy is building do not provide transitional housing for the very low and low-income population,” said Paul Krueger of Neighbors for a Better San Diego. This group advocates single-family homeowners and opposes regulations and projects that increase the density of residential areas.

Krueger said aspects of the Mayor’s State of the City Address were positive, but current efforts to build more affordable housing are ineffective and misplaced.

“Until the mayor and the council recognize that we must build truly affordable housing, we will not solve the problem of the homeless,” he said.

Deacon Jim Vargas, CEO of Father Joe’s Village, said he was optimistic about what he heard in the speech, but he wants to see if the executive order really makes a difference.

“If we can optimize housing processes, if we can do that, then we will reduce the costs associated with building and equipping housing, and we will get people off the streets faster,” Vargas said.

His organization is the largest homeless service provider in the region.

Vargas outlined another aspect of what he says is needed to reduce the number of people living on the streets.

“We need more shelters, and we need not only shelters and general shelters, but we need to make sure that we are responsive to the needs of the people on the street. We must meet them where they are,” he said.

Gloria said his administration has increased the number of shelter beds and expanded programs to help the homeless. The mayor said he is working to make it easier to build affordable housing, but there is still more to be done.

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