It’s been an incredibly difficult two weeks for thousands of San Diegans dealing with the impacts of the historic storm on Jan. 22, and the City has been working around the clock to help ease their burden and prevent more flooding to the extent possible with this winter’s unusually high volume of rain.

Using powers granted by the state and local declarations of emergency, we’ve been able to clear several miles of storm channels that clogged by debris that flowed downstream during the storm. City crews have picked up more than 9,000 tons of debris and discarded items from flooded homes, cleared streets of mud, and the San Diego Housing Commission is helping place residents who are unsafe in their homes into local hotels. 

n an effort to ensure this storm is acknowledged as the natural disaster it was and get help from the federal government, we’re working with our government partners at the local, state and federal level to ensure we qualify for a federal declaration and assistance. 

To support our efforts, today my administration brought to the City Council a resolution requesting the Governor ask the President to issue a Major Disaster Declaration for the Jan. 22 storms, which would unlock funding and assistance for impacted residents. 

We also provided an update to the Council and public on our storm-recovery and flood-prevention efforts and asked for authorization of $10 million in spending to support them. A federal disaster declaration could help us recoup some of those funds and qualify for more assistance. 

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

San Diego Housing Commission Property Serving as Short-Term Emergency Shelter for Residents Displaced by Storm 

A newly acquired City-owned hotel in the Midway District is providing short-term emergency shelter for up to 59 households displaced by Jan. 22's storm and flooding.

The San Diego Housing Commission recently completed its purchase of the former Ramada Inn on Midway Drive to repurpose as housing under the state’s Homekey grant program. We’re deploying the rooms immediately while the County of San Diego sets up its housing assistance program that will connect displaced residents with longer-term housing. As of this weekend, 30 households have moved into this property. 

This emergency shelter is thanks to a partnership between my office, City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera and San Diego Housing Commission. Alpha Project is operating the short-term emergency shelter at the SDHC property. 

When there’s a need in the community, we have an obligation to use every available resource to fill that need. This is how government agencies are supposed to respond to an emergency, and I thank the San Diego Housing Commission and Council President Elo-Rivera for their partnership in this effort.

Read more about the emergency shelter for City residents impacted by the storm on Inside San Diego.  

New Project Labor Agreement on Major City Projects Means Good Jobs for Local Workers, More Efficient Construction  

The San Diego City Council has approved a project labor agreement with local building trades unions that will apply to major construction projects citywide. This is a big deal that will help employ more skilled and trained local workers and ensure City projects are completed on-time and on-budget. 

This citywide project labor agreement, which I plan to sign into law, will prioritize the employment of local residents for good-paying jobs building our critical infrastructure – meaning their earnings will largely be spent here, supporting the local economy.  

The agreement also helps the City employ people from communities that have historically experienced barriers to employment in the construction industry by spurring development of programs that recruit and train disadvantaged groups such as former foster children, people experiencing homelessness and military veterans. 

San Diego voters cleared the way for this Citywide project labor agreement in the 2022 election by approving Measure D, which ended a ban on this type of program.   

I am grateful to the San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council for their partnership on this agreement – and to Councilmember Raul Campillo, whose leadership helped ensure its passage by the City Council.. 

Prioritizing local hires for public projects is good for the City, our residents and our economy.   

Downtown “Quiet Zone” Reinstated  

I’m pleased to report that safety enhancements have been completed at a dozen train crossings Downtown, which has brought the necessary intersections into full compliance with Federal Railroad Administration requirements for a Quiet Zone. 

he Quiet Zone program allows trains to go through intersections without sounding their horns if crossings have upgraded markings, signs and barriers that ensure pedestrians and vehicles are visually aware of the possibility a train might speed through. 

The FRA recently suspended the downtown Quiet Zone after an inspection uncovered faded and outdated safety measures. City of San Diego crews worked quickly to bring these intersections into compliance, and soon after, the FRA notified the City that the Quiet Zone is again in full compliance. 

I appreciate the City’s Transportation Department’s quick work to complete the safety upgrades and restoring peace to downtown residents.  

Read more about the restoration of the Quiet Zone on Inside San Diego.  

City Seeking Partner to Transform Underused Downtown Property into 100% Affordable Rental Homes 

The City is looking for someone to transform a City-owned property in Downtown into 100% affordable housing.  

The City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the site that currently hosts a 26,500-square-foot, three-story building at 1401 Imperial Ave. The East Village property currently serves as our Homelessness Response Center (HRC), but the building and site could do much more to address homelessness and our affordable housing shortage. 

The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) oversees the HRC, which is operated in partnership with People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), the Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH) and other homelessness service providers.  

The center will continue to operate during the RFP and negotiation process.  

Housing ends homelessness, and the best resource we can offer to people experiencing homelessness is a home they can afford. While we’ll continue to offer the HRC’s valuable services to unsheltered San Diegans at other locations, the best use of this City-owned property is to provide the affordable housing residents need to get and stay housed permanently. 

Read more about the opportunity to redevelop this City building into affordable housing on Inside San Diego.  

Breaking Ground on 270 New Affordable Rental Homes 

The City’s San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) and Chelsea Investment Corporation celebrated a groundbreaking for Harrington Heights, an affordable housing development that will provide 270 affordable rental apartments for San Diegans with low incomes, including people experiencing homelessness. 

As Mayor, I’ve been working to make bold reforms to our City policies to spur the creation of housing that San Diegans can afford. These policies are paying off, making it so that affordable housing developers like Chelsea are able to build more homes much faster than ever before. 

Our "Affordable Housing Permit Now” program launched last spring streamlined the permitting process for 100% affordable housing projects, compressing the timeline from around six months to less than two weeks, on average. Already, 16 projects have been permitted through the project, resulting in 2,000 new affordable homes in various stages of construction now.

Near the intersection of Broadway and 13th Street in the East Village, Harrington Heights will remain affordable for 55 years for households with income up to 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), which today is approximately $62,000 for a three-person household. 

Some units will serve San Diegans with extremely low incomes, including individuals earning about $24,000 a year or less.  

A mix of residents with diverse needs will call Harrington Heights home, including unhoused veterans, non-veterans experiencing homelessness, families and individuals with lower income, and families with members who have intellectual or physical disabilities.  

The development is near City College, the City College Transit Station and multiple bus lines.  

Learn more about this new affordable housing project here.  

Kicking Off San Diego and Tijuana’s Year as World Design Capital 

We have officially kicked off our binational border region’s World Design Capital 2024 Program at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.. The program includes 366 days of design-centered events and the opportunity to shape the future of our binational border region through the power of design.  

At the kickoff, I announced that we will host the World Design Conference, a landmark event that will bring together thousands of industrial, environmental and infrastructure designers; policy makers; urban professionals and elected officials; mobility experts; and educators and entrepreneurs to help shape the future and enhance the well-being of urban regions around the globe.

Celebrating the Lunar New Year  

I had the honor of celebrating the Year of the Dragon with the San Diego United Lions Club at the Jasmine Seafood Restaurant in Kearny Mesa. I want to thank the Lion’s Club for donating the proceeds of the Lunar New Year gala to support people impacted by the devastating recent storm. 

Standing Together Against Antisemitism 

The Standing Together: A Community Response to Antisemitism event centered on tactics and strategies we all can use to help combat antisemitism in our communities. The symposium brought together stakeholders and community members from across San Diego and helped us to better understand and implement the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism at the local level. 

Women of Color Roar Black History Month Breakfast 

 kicked off the first weekend of Black History Month at the annual Women of Color Roar Annual Breakfast at City College. It was a great opportunity to celebrate local Women of Color who’ve been elected to public office while also encouraging more local women of color to run for office in the future.