Dear Neighbor, 

We are one step closer to adding several new tools to the City’s toolbox to help encourage the creation of more homes that San Diegans of all incomes can afford and help solve our homelessness crisis.

The City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee voted to advance my Housing Action Package 2.0, which is a series of policy amendments and reforms to protect existing affordable homes and encourage the construction of more.

The package of policies includes incentives for creating homes for students and in areas with greater access to jobs and high-performing schools. It also includes new incentives for housing for the city’s most vulnerable residents, including people experiencing or at risk of homelessness as well as seniors and people with disabilities.

The City’s historic failure to build new housing has gotten us into this crisis, and it is separating families, contributing to homelessness and endangering our economic future. We must continue to do everything we can to build more homes that San Diegans can afford, and this Housing Action Package will help get that done.

I look forward to presenting these new housing policy reforms to the full City Council for their consideration. 

As always, it’s an honor to serve as your Mayor.

The City is Joining a Legal Case on Homeless Encampments. Here’s Why.  

Did you know one of the major challenges the City of San Diego faces in its continued efforts to address homelessness stems from various legal settlements and court rulings? They limit what the City can do on homelessness.

Over the years, various cases and settlements have resulted in a complicated web of restrictions that have made it difficult for cities to respond to our constituents’ requests to address homeless encampments that are causing health and safety concerns.  

Soon, the United States Supreme Court may consider another legal challenge to a municipality working to address homelessness. The City of Grants Pass, Ore., is asking to be able to regulate where people can camp in public spaces. 

Grants Pass is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to help untie the hands of cities that are attempting to respond to the proliferation of encampments in our communities. 

Because cities must be allowed to address the significant public health and safety dangers posed by the unsafe and unsanitary conditions found in homeless encampments, the City of San Diego will file an amicus brief in support of the appeal. 

Read more.

Urging the Governor to Sign Conservatorship Reform Bill into Law  

California lawmakers gave final approval to a significant overhaul of California’s outdated behavioral health law earlier this month when they passed Senate Bill 43. 

Authored by Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) and sponsored by the Big City Mayors Coalition, SB 43 will make it easier to provide mental health treatment for individuals unable to care for themselves.

Now, I am urging Governor Gavin Newsom to sign this critical reform into law. 

Republicans and Democrats agree on the need for changes to our state’s antiquated behavioral health laws so we can get severely mentally ill Californians the help they need.

This bill alone will not solve the mental health crisis, but it is another tool that will help end some of the suffering we are seeing on our streets. 

Major Improvements Underway at Park in Scripps Ranch  

Major improvements are coming to Jerabek Park in Scripps Ranch! 

State Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, City crews and community members joined me to kick off construction at the Scripps Ranch park. 

I’m so grateful to Assemblymember Maienschein for securing $4 million in state funding – more than half the total construction cost – for this project, which includes two children’s play areas, fitness equipment, a restroom and concession stand, a picnic shelter, sidewalks and bleachers that are accessible for all users, a resurfaced parking lot and other park furnishings. 

Every neighborhood deserves access to high-quality parks. This project is just one of 18 parks that are expected to be improved in fiscal year 2024. We also expect to open three new parks to the public this fiscal year. These improvement projects exemplify our ongoing efforts to upgrade outdated parks and open new parks in communities that need them. 

Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024. 

Growing San Diego’s Urban Forest, One Tree at a Time 

A $10 million grant award from the federal government will allow the City to plant and preserve more than 8,400 trees throughout San Diego’s historically disadvantaged communities. 

The grant, announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, was among $1 billion in funding to be distributed to cities across the nation. The grants are intended to be used to plant and maintain trees, to aid in combating extreme heat and climate change. The Forest Service selected 385 grant proposals from all 50 states to fund projects working to increase equitable access to trees and nature. 

Our Climate Action Plan sets an ambitious goal of planting 100,000 new trees by 2035. This funding will help us make significant progress to meet our objectives.

I want to thank the Biden-Harris Administration for this investment in our City and for helping us make San Diego a more sustainable and equitable City for all.