San Diego OKs 99 zoning changes to boost housing, business districts and behavioral health – San Diego Union-Tribune

Key Policy Changes

San Diego City Council unanimously approved 99 zoning changes designed to stimulate economic growth, expand housing options, and improve access to behavioral health services. The changes include:

• Easing restrictions on converting shopping malls into housing.
• Simplifying the approval process for sidewalk cafes.
• Facilitating the establishment of substance use and mental health clinics, particularly for the homeless population, while ensuring appropriate buffer zones around schools and childcare facilities.
• Making it easier to open urgent care clinics and childcare centers.
• Mandating improved pedestrian, cyclist, and public transit access to new arenas and stadiums.
• Incentivizing development on underutilized downtown sites and promoting middle-income housing.
• Encouraging ground-floor commercial businesses along C Street.

Impact and Controversy

These updates aim to address San Diego’s affordable housing crisis and improve the city's overall infrastructure. Council members emphasized the importance of improving access to mental health and substance abuse treatment. However, critics argue that approving such a large number of changes simultaneously limits public scrutiny compared to addressing them individually.

The changes, which require Coastal Commission approval before implementation in coastal zones, follow San Diego’s practice of annually updating its zoning code in large batches—a unique approach among regional cities. City officials contend this approach streamlines regulations and allows for quick adjustments to policies with unintended consequences.