{"id":336690,"date":"2026-05-28T23:46:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T23:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/336690\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T23:46:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T23:46:32","slug":"opinion-measure-a-will-put-the-humanity-back-into-san-diego-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/336690\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Measure A will put the humanity back into San Diego housing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>La Jolla Shores, a neighborhood with many second homes. (File photo by Thomas Murphy\/Times of San Diego)<\/p>\n

My husband and I cannot plan for a future in San Diego.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We are both first-generation graduates of San Diego State University, and the first in our families to cross many other milestones. Yet, the possibility of buying a home in the city that raised us, educated us, and shaped our commitment to community feels more and more out of our reach. <\/p>\n

\"Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n

The lack of available and affordable homes to rent or buy heavily impacts our relationship; as a result, we have delayed growing our family. Even as we budget and add to our savings, we can only afford a one bedroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These are all important, personal reasons why we are voting \u201cYes\u201d on Measure A<\/a>, the Non-Primary Homes Act. We\u2019re also voting \u201cYes\u201d for our neighbors and community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Measure A will open up more housing for San Diegans to rent or buy while generating revenue for critical services like affordable housing and much needed community infrastructure. Despite the arguments of some opposing Measure A, humanity cannot be taken out of housing. This is\u00a0not some abstract policy; Measure A is a concrete solution to increase housing and it impacts me directly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, our story is not unique.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It echoes across neighborhoods with young families doubling up in tiny apartments, with our elders watching their children move away to more affordable cities, and with essential workers commuting long hours because they cannot afford to live where they serve. While thousands struggle to find stable housing, investors keep more than 5,100 houses vacant and treat themed as mere investment vehicles rather than places for people to live and families to grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Measure A is a common-sense step towards accountability and opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By incentivizing the use of empty homes and creating a revenue stream for affordable housing, infrastructure and services, the Non-Primary Homes Act recognizes a simple truth \u2013 homes are for living, not for hoarding. By voting \u201cYes\u201d on Measure A, San Diegans can show up for our communities and help families like mine stay rooted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is a defining moment for our city. Do we continue down a path where homeownership is a distant dream for the next generation? Or, do we come together, vote \u201cYes\u201d on policies that reflect our shared values?<\/p>\n

I urge my neighbors to vote \u201cYes\u201d on Measure A and continue building a housing future that works for all the people who work daily to make this fine city what it is. I believe a thriving San Diego depends a lot on San Diegans being able to stay and call San Diego home.<\/p>\n

Itzel Maganda Chavez\u00a0is the civic engagement director for the Alliance San Diego<\/a> Mobilization Fund. He is a resident of Golden Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"La Jolla Shores, a neighborhood with many second homes. (File photo by Thomas Murphy\/Times of San Diego) My…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336691,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[139021,4480,6647,74,76,75,139022],"class_list":["post-336690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-affordabel-housing","tag-ballot-measure","tag-measure-a","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-vacant-homes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}