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HNY and Opportunities for Engagement

The members of the Escondido Community Housing Coalition (ECHC) wish everyone a peaceful and productive 2023.

A lot will happen this year. Please see the next steps by the County on the designation of environmental justice communities below.

Also, here are two interesting articles from the New York Times about how redevelopment of malls and office buildings could be done for housing. With big changes coming to the Westfield Mall, maybe some opportunities will arise.

If you are interested in helping out with the ECHC, please contact us and let us know how you would like to help.

Info on County Meeting:

The County Board of Supervisors directed staff to expand the identification of Environmental Justice communities and return to the Board with options. Planning & Development Services (PDS) initiated the project in early 2022 and more information can be found on the project website.

We want to hear from you! PDS will be holding small group meetings from January 12, 2023, to January 26, 2023, for different stakeholder groups. We will provide project background information and would like your input to help explore priorities, issues, and opportunities to inform potential options to expand the identification of “Environmental Justice Communities” in the unincorporated County of San Diego.  Your input and insights are essential to inform the draft options that will be brought before the Board.

Each small group meeting will have the same presentation and format. The small group meetings are grouped by industry or affiliation, but all meetings are open to all. Please let us know if you would like to schedule a meeting outside of the dates below.

Small group meeting schedule:

·  Thursday, January 19, 2023, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm: Government & School/Youth Groups

·  Tuesday, January 24, 2023, from 10:30 am to 11:30 am: Affordable Housing

·  Wednesday January 25, 2023, from 10:30 am to 11:30 am: Environmental Justice & Community Based Organizations

·  Thursday, January 26, 2023, from 10:30 am to 11:30 am: Tribal Governments

Would you like to attend a small group meeting? Please RSVP at least one day in advance of the desired meeting with your name and email address to Denise Vo at Denise.Vo@sdcounty.ca.gov or (858) 505-6677. We will provide you with a link to join the meeting on receipt of your confirmation.

If you would like interpretation services available at the meeting, please contact Denise Vo with your preferred language at Denise.Vo@sdcounty.ca.gov by January 6, 2023.

Thank you,

Denise Vo (she/her/hers) Land Use/Environmental Planner County of San Diego, Planning & Development Services 5510 Overland Avenue | Suite 310 | San Diego, CA 92123 ( 619-323-7395 | * Denise.Vo@sdcounty.ca.gov
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Esco Housing Element Deficient

In an August 2 letter sent by the Ca Housing and Community Development Dept (HCD) to Escondido found the revised draft Housing Element also deficient and the element still in non-compliance. Here are some excerpts (emphasis added)
…The revised draft element addresses many statutory requirements; however, the following revisions will be necessary to comply with State Housing Element Law …

…While the element included revisions, it still should be revised with significant programs to enhance housing mobility and include quantifiable metrics or numerical objectives to target beneficial impacts for people, households, and  neighborhoods (e.g., number of people or households assisted, number of housing units built, number of parks or infrastructure projects completed)...  

… As the year has passed and Program 1.1 (Sites Inventory and No Net Loss…) and Program 1.3 (Byright Approvals on Reuse Sites…) has not been completed, the housing element is out of compliance and will remain out of compliance until the rezoning have been completed. 

Public participation in the development, adoption and implementation of the housing element is essential to effective housing planning. Throughout the housing element process, the City should continue to engage the community, including organizations that represent lower-income and special needs households, by making information regularly available and considering and incorporating comments where appropriate. 

The letter goes on to say that Escondido will not be eligible for significant grant funding options due to non-compliance Housing Element… Several federal, state, and regional funding programs consider housing element compliance as an eligibility or ranking criteria. For example, the CalTrans Senate Bill (SB) 1 Sustainable Communities grant; the Strategic Growth Council and HCD’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities programs; and HCD’s Permanent Local Housing Allocation consider housing element compliance and/or annual reporting requirements pursuant to Government Code section 65400

Escondido Community Housing Coalition will continue to follow this issue and fight for affordable housing programs and projects and the green infrastructure to support those residents that our city desperately needs.  

Letter  at this link   https://www.escondido.org/Data/Sites/1/media/Planning/HCIS/SdiEscondidoDraftOut080222.pdf 
and  https://escohousingcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/HCD_to_Esco_HousingElement080222.pdf