Dear Neighbor, 

I want San Diegans to stay in San Diego. To do that, we have to build more homes faster, at every income level and in every neighborhood. 

Three years ago, I launched the Affordable Housing Permit Now program to speed up the delivery of 100% affordable housing. Today, that work is producing real results. We have permitted 6,746 affordable homes across 61 projects, and more than 2,100 of those homes are already built and open to residents. 

We set a clear standard to review qualifying projects in 30 days or less, and our Development Services Department is exceeding that standard, with an average review time of just nine days. That kind of efficiency reduces delays, lowers costs, and gets families into homes sooner. 

This program is helping deliver housing across our city, including the just-opened Terrasini senior community in Clairemont Mesa and hundreds of additional homes on underused land. Thousands more homes are already under construction or moving through the pipeline; just look around and you’ll see the cranes in the air!  

We’re not just planning for San Diego's future—we’re building it. That means continuing to remove barriers, move faster, and build more homes so there’s a roof over the head of every San Diegan at a price they can afford. 

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

San Diegans are starting to see the impact of building more housing: Rents are going down. 

Over the past year, median rents for one-bedroom apartments in San Diego dropped by 5.6%, and two-bedroom rents fell by 7.5%. At the same time, the number of available units increased by about 15%, giving renters more options and more bargaining power. 

This is a direct result of our pro-housing policies that build more homes. It’s simple economics: When supply goes up, pressure on prices comes down. That means more opportunity for San Diegans to find a home they can afford. 

These results reflect years of work to increase housing production across our city. We have updated community plans, streamlined approvals, and created policies designed to get homes built faster and it is working as we are nearing 10,000 housing permits annually. 

There is still more work to do. San Diego remains one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, and too many families are struggling with high costs. That’s why we are continuing to focus on increasing supply across all income levels, so more San Diegans can find a place to live in the communities they call home. 

San Diego is seeing progress in reducing hazards and dangerous fires along our freeways through coordinated outreach, cleanup, and enforcement efforts. 

Since our agreement with Caltrans began last summer, data shows that encampment-related fires continue to drop along freeway corridors in the downtown area. For example, over an eight-month period, likely encampment-related fires along a five-mile stretch of state freeway right by of way dropped by 39%. This progress is due to our innovative agreement with Caltrans that allows City crews to conduct regular encampment abatements and connect people to services in specific high-risk areas. 

Since launching this effort, City teams have completed approximately 460 abatements and removed more than 500,000 pounds of trash from freeway corridors in and around Downtown. At the same time, outreach teams have helped move at least 90 people into Safe Sleeping sites, with more than a dozen transitioning into permanent housing, and more on their way. 

This work is making a real difference. Fewer fires mean safer conditions for people living in these areas, safer commutes for drivers, and fewer emergency calls that pull firefighters away from neighborhoods. It also reduces risk for first responders working in some of the most dangerous conditions on our roadways. 

By continuing to pair outreach with environmental cleanup and strong partnerships, we are improving safety across our city and helping more people move off the streets and into services. 

San Diego has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform underused land in the Midway area into a vibrant, complete neighborhood, and I am supporting state legislation that will help us get it done.  

The Midway Rising project will deliver more than 4,000 new homes, including 2,000 affordable homes, along with parks and transit improvements. It is one of the largest mixed-income housing developments on the West Coast and the largest affordable housing project in California’s history. It will also include a new sports and entertainment venue that anchors the site, creating a destination for residents and visitors while supporting jobs and economic growth.  

The bill before the Legislature recognizes that this project has already undergone extensive environmental review and meets strong sustainability standards. Its purpose is to prevent unnecessary delays that could stall housing production at a time when more homes are urgently needed. 

Let me be clear: this is not cutting corners. This project has already been thoroughly analyzed, includes major climate and infrastructure investments, and replaces acres of deteriorating asphalt with homes, parks, and public space. 

What this bill does is allow us to move forward without redundant processes that add time and cost and make it harder to deliver housing, including homes affordable to working families and seniors. 

Midway Rising is exactly the kind of project we should be building, in a central location near jobs and transit, with a significant commitment to affordability and long-term community benefits. 

San Diegans have been waiting a long time to see this area revitalized. With this legislation, we can turn that vision into reality and deliver the homes and neighborhood improvements our city needs. I want to thank Senator Akilah Weber Pierson for her leadership in authoring Senate Bill 958 and championing this effort for San Diego. 

In last week’s trivia feature, we asked: In recognition of March 31, which has been renamed Farmworkers Day, which crop is San Diego County the nation’s leading producer of? 

Here’s how you voted: 

✅▪️ Avocados — 75.94% (142) 
▪️ Strawberries — 22.46% (42) 
▪️ Tomatoes — 2.67% (5) 

The correct answer is avocados. San Diego County is frequently cited as the "Avocado Capital of the World" (or at least the nation). While it competes with Ventura County for the top spot in California, it consistently leads in the number of individual avocado farms and total acreage. 

This week’s question: Eggs are a symbol of Easter and new beginnings. About how many eggs does the average hen lay in a year? 

▪️ 50 eggs 
▪️ 250 eggs 
▪️ 500 eggs 

Answer below or send your guess to AskTheMayor@sandiego.gov and check back next week to see if you got it right. 

Starting this week, the City of San Diego will begin delivering new light blue recycling bins to households eligible for City-provided trash and recycling service. The updated bins are more durable, easier to identify, and equipped with scannable tags to improve service reliability and accountability. 

Deliveries will take place on regular collection days and continue citywide over several months, with some households receiving their bins later this year. Crews will also remove older dark blue bins, which will be recycled and repurposed. Residents can expect notifications ahead of their delivery and can look up their estimated timeline online. 

After customers receive their new light blue recycling bins, the City will collect only from those new bins. Until then, the City will continue servicing old containers to avoid disruption in customer service. Collection of recycling materials will remain bi-weekly.

Weekly recycling service will begin July 1, 2027. 

San Diego is taking action to protect residents from the growing impacts of extreme heat, and community organizations are invited to be part of the solution. The City Planning Department, in partnership with the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, is developing an Extreme Heat Action Plan focused on reducing risks for vulnerable populations. 

As part of this effort, nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply for the Community-Driven Design Series, which will support groups serving youth and older adults in creating heat reduction strategies for their programs and operations. Selected organizations will collaborate with City staff and regional partners to develop community-based solutions, and each participating group will receive $5,000 in funding. 

Applications close April 17. Learn more and apply today. 

There is important relief available for San Diego homeowners impacted by the 2024 storms and flooding. 

The Governor’s Office has confirmed that the January 2024 San Diego flood qualifies under the expanded CalAssist Mortgage Fund program. That means eligible disaster-affected homeowners may now receive up to 12 months of mortgage payments, paid directly to their mortgage servicer, with assistance totaling up to $100,000 that does not need to be repaid. 

The expansion increases the relief period from three months to a full year and broadens income eligibility so more families can qualify. This support is designed to help homeowners stabilize while they rebuild, navigate insurance claims, and recover from disaster impacts. 

Homeowners can review the full list of qualified disasters and apply at www.calassistmortgagefund.org. 

Downtown’s Civic Center Plaza is getting a vibrant refresh with Plaza Central — a new series of pop-up events bringing food, music, and art to the heart of the city. The activations are free and open to the public every Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering a lively preview of the area’s long-term revitalization. 

 
Learn more about Plaza Central events.