San Diego needs more housing now
[Cary] Lowe and [Michael] Stepner promote a restrictive approach to development that will only prolong our housing shortage (“San Diego needs more housing, but the ‘shotgun approach’ is doing more harm than good,” Guest Commentary, Nov. 9, La Jolla Light).
Endless planning and review serve to obstruct and delay the construction we desperately need. With thousands priced out, we must allow housing growth broadly, not just in select corridors.
Artificial constraints like limiting new housing to transit corridors will backfire by escalating land values. With flexible zoning and streamlining, housing can flourish in sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods across the region.
So-called gradual transformation is a tactic to thwart change and maintain exclusivity. Reasonable infrastructure upgrades and community engagement are essential, but not at the expense of regional housing needs. Some neighborhood disruption is inevitable to build the abundant housing we need quickly.
Planning has a role, but not when it serves to maintain exclusivity. We can’t wait for huge master-planned communities. We need housing at all levels, everywhere, as soon as possible.
Saad Asad
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