{"id":433773,"date":"2026-08-15T12:52:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/433773\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T12:52:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:52:23","slug":"san-diegos-new-solution-to-its-affordable-housing-crunch-building-homes-at-these-7-libraries-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/433773\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego\u2019s new solution to its affordable housing crunch? Building homes at these 7 libraries \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some library branches in San Diego could soon be converted from one- or two-story buildings into high-rise\u00a0housing complexes featuring a new and expanded library branch on the ground floor.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a new city strategy that aims to spur more housing construction by eliminating the No. 1 hurdle developers face in San Diego: making a project profitable despite the high cost of land here.<\/p>\n

San Diego officials have picked the 11 city-owned sites they say are best suited: seven library branches, along with two city workyards in Clairemont and Golden Hill and two empty lots in Point Loma and San Ysidro.<\/p>\n

They now plan to create a master plan<\/a> that will evaluate each site for how much housing it could handle, what new complementary infrastructure is needed and how the library or other existing city functions would blend in.<\/p>\n

But the proposal<\/a> is spurring significant community opposition, partly because many residents mistakenly believe the housing will replace library branches instead of incorporating the branches into a new housing complex.<\/p>\n

Even when that confusion is cleared up, the plan is still generating opposition from some residents who don\u2019t want the new residents and traffic they worry more housing will bring.<\/p>\n

In addition, residents contend the libraries will likely have to close for a year or two during construction, forcing book clubs and other groups to meet elsewhere and making young people leave the neighborhood for after-school activities.<\/p>\n

The seven branches under consideration are in Clairemont, University Heights, University City, Allied Gardens, North Park, Linda Vista and Mira Mesa. At the Mira Mesa site, the project may focus on an empty lot next to the library.<\/p>\n

At workshops being held across the city to discuss the proposal and gather public feedback, city officials are emphasizing that no specific projects are yet being proposed and that any new housing likely won\u2019t be built for years.<\/p>\n

\"MarlonMarlon Pangilinan, far right, senior city planner, explains the affordable housing plan to the public at Standley Recreation Center on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in San Diego. (Michael Ho \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Heidi Vonblum, the city\u2019s planning director, said this week that the master plan will evaluate what kind of project would work at each site, for both the community and the developer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will really look at how these building sites integrate into the existing community and how they can enhance the community,\u201d Vonblum said. \u201cWe\u2019re also looking at financial feasibility for these projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea of addressing the local housing crisis by inviting developers to build on public land is not a new idea, but it hasn\u2019t happened often\u00a0locally.<\/p>\n

The Metropolitan Transit System has built a few housing projects at some trolley stations and is planning a few more. And San Diego Unified is building housing for teachers and other staff\u00a0on some of its land.<\/p>\n

City officials were spurred to more seriously consider the option after California enacted updates in 2019 to the Surplus Land Act, requiring\u00a0local governments to prioritize affordable\u00a0housing on any surplus land they want to lease or sell.<\/p>\n

In 2024, San Diego considered 400 potential city sites where such housing could potentially be built and narrowed the list to 20 prime sites. Since then, officials have narrowed the list to the 11 properties that will be in the new master plan.<\/p>\n

The criteria used to pick those 11 sites include access to parks, healthy groceries and other community resources and their proximity to transit, schools and jobs, along with the sites\u2019 size, shape and topography.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe asked, \u2018What can be done at this site with housing?\u2019\u201d said Seth Litchney, the city\u2019s deputy director for housing policy and environmental analysis. \u201cWe also wanted some geographic diversity \u2014 not to cluster all of these in one part of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vonblum said the list of 11 sites and the master plan, which will likely be ready in early 2027, will transform a vague city ambition into concrete terms for developers and neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis gets away from picking a random library and seeing if we can put housing on it,\u201d she said. \u201cThis lets us take a step back and look comprehensively at all city-owned land to determine which ones are the highest priorities so we can use city land in the most strategic way to develop housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Clairemont Library on Burgener Boulevard, as seen on Thursday, August 13, 2026. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

The master plan won\u2019t propose specific projects \u2014 but it will likely recommend how much housing each site should host, and whether it should all be rent-restricted\u00a0or contain a mix of\u00a0rent-restricted and market-rate homes.<\/p>\n

The plan will also recommend how to incorporate each site\u2019s\u00a0existing city use into the new mixed-use complex.<\/p>\n

With many of the libraries, that will likely mean rebuilding the branches on the ground floor of a high-rise or mid-rise building.<\/p>\n

With the empty lots \u2014 one at Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma, the other at Foothill Road and Smythe Avenue in San Ysidro \u2014 the city doesn\u2019t face that challenge.<\/p>\n

But with the two operations yards, one at Rose Canyon in Bay Ho and the other on the edge of Balboa Park north of B Street, that could be a major challenge, Litchney said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tricky part is determining how the city can continue its operations if housing is built,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Some of the sites might also be targeted for homeless shelters as a component use.<\/p>\n

At a public workshop Wednesday evening in University City, residents living near the University Community Library said they don\u2019t like the city\u2019s ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe developers make a lot of money, and we get more traffic, more people and more crowded in our neighborhoods,\u201d said Pattie Wells. \u201cIt will change our quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA long line forms for the open house event at Standley Recreation Center on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026 in San Diego. (Michael Ho \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Laura Freidman, who leads a book club at the library, came to the workshop believing that housing would replace the library. After city planning officials assured her a new library would definitely be part of any new housing project, she was still skeptical.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel better, but in this day and age I don\u2019t necessarily believe anything anyone tells me,\u201d Freidman said.<\/p>\n

Many others expressed similar sentiments at the crowded workshop at Standley Recreation Center. It was the third of four city workshops, with the final one scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at the Golden Hill Recreation Center.<\/p>\n

Vonblum said feedback gathered at the forums, including responses to written surveys, will be incorporated into the new master plan. The survey is also available online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While developers won\u2019t become a key part of the process until after the master plan, the local chapter of the Building Industry Association praised the city\u2019s proposal Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe BIA welcomes new policies and programs that make it easier to build homes San Diegans need,\u201d said Aimee Faucett, chief executive of the local chapter. \u201cDone correctly, this can enhance underused sites.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some library branches in San Diego could soon be converted from one- or two-story buildings into high-rise\u00a0housing complexes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":433774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,23,205,100,13,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-433773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-local-politics","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433773","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=433773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}