A - Amendments to the San Diego County General Plan

Summary

A "YES" vote would be a vote in favor of requiring any housing development that exceeded San Diego County's General Plan - a nine-year document that directs housing growth and development in unincorporated San Diego County - by six or more homes to be put on the ballot countywide for voter approval.

A "NO" vote would be a vote in opposition requiring any housing development that exceeded San Diego County's General Plan - a nine-year document that directs housing growth and development in unincorporated San Diego County - by six or more homes to be put on the ballot countywide for voter approval. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors would continue to have the authority to approve development projects that exceed the General Plan.

Arguments

"Measure A would make our housing affordability crisis worse, and that would hit young families, seniors and workers the hardest. It would negatively impact all of us. Our entire region would suffer — economically, environmentally and socially — if voters approve Measure A... Requiring — as Measure A does — to take any General Plan amendment to 1.6 million voters, even if it increases the number of allowable homes and apartments by as few as six units, would serve as a de facto ban on new homes and apartments and drive up the cost of mortgages and rents even higher.", in opposition to A (Learn more)

"The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board urges a no vote on Measure A. Its marketing blitz can’t disguise that fact that it is bad public policy.", in opposition to A (Learn more)

“Yes on A will safeguard the smart growth vision of the general plan and give our region a fighting chance to meet the climate goals that are critical to achieving a safe and livable future for kids growing up today.”, in support of A (Learn more)

"Measure A will limit development that increases fire risk and traffic congestion, while it promotes smart, affordable development.", in support of A (Learn more)

"Politicians come and go. Experience has shown us that the best way to make sure the General Plan is followed is to force developers to make their case to the voters, not just to the supervisors. With developers busy planning more and more sprawl developments in fire-prone areas, the time is right to pass SOS.", in support of A (Learn more)

"SOS proponents claim the county’s General Plan already allows for the construction of 60,000 new homes, but the majority of those would be luxury homes on multi-acre lots. The fact is, if the SOS measure passes, homes that are affordable for firefighters and law enforcement personnel, as well as other working families, would not be built.", in opposition to A (Learn more)

"Measure A would ultimately speed up the growth of much-needed housing development. It will redirect the efforts of developers away from buying cheap rural land with the hopes of securing a zoning increase from the county, to actually building the homes that are already waiting to be built.", in support of A (Learn more)

"The passage of Measure A would be the most decisive land-use decision of our generation, making our regional housing crisis worse, while jeopardizing our economy, and perpetuating a carbon emission and environmental nightmare. It is a misguided proposal that is anti-environment, anti-business and anti-representative democracy. But it is decidedly pro-sprawl, pro-out-of-town-influence and pro-NIMBY.", in opposition to A (Learn more)

"A group of 'extreme commuters' on Monday urged voters to reject Measure A, contending that requiring a countywide vote on each new development would make San Diego’s strained housing market worse... The commuters, some of whom travel daily from Tijuana or Riverside County to work in San Diego, gathered in a City Heights park to say they have largely been priced out of San Diego County and the measure would exacerbate the issue.", in opposition to A (Learn more)

"'Measure A is bad public policy that would prevent badly needed affordable housing from being built and contribute to racial and economic segregation,' said Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, chair of the local [Democratic] party, after leadership voted on Tuesday. 'It would force more San Diegans to move to Riverside or Tijuana to find housing, and cause more vulnerable people to end up homeless.'", in opposition to A (Learn more)

"Measure A protects the existing general plan from being disassembled piecemeal by sprawl developers by adding a voter requirement any time a GPA special exception is asked for in the high fire-risk rural or semi-rural zoned areas of the unincorporated county. Measure A does not apply to any city and it wisely doesn’t touch village areas in the unincorporated parts of the county where higher density is already prioritized. Nor does it stop the conversion of commercially or industrially zoned areas into residential areas. It exclusively focuses on up-zoning of rural land.", in support of A (Learn more)

"'I‘m strongly opposed to Measure A because it would worsen our housing crisis and damage our regional economy,' Faulconer said. 'The measure locks in bad policies that would drive more of our neighbors and co-workers out of town in search of cheaper housing.'", in opposition to A (Learn more)

"In addition to pressing our Supervisors to honor the priorities of County residents instead of those of land use speculators, Measure A will push builders to actually develop affordable housing. Measure A tightens up the loopholes that allow developers to flout the General Plan by making the process of buying cheap land zoned for low-density housing, and then turning around to build luxury developments with thousands of units, less attractive. It forces developers to justify their schemes to the voters directly rather than simply relying on the Supervisors to represent our interests. ", in support of A (Learn more)

Measure Details