to the editor: In fact, San Diego has laid out the welcome mat for apartment builders and their investors (“San Diego shows what happens when a city actually lets builders build.” January 20). But the one in my city laissez-faire This development approach has failed to provide truly affordable housing and has virtually ignored the obvious need for additional parks, schools, fire and police stations, and parking for car-dependent working-class families.
Some of these new rental projects offer small studios for $2,500 a month and one-bedroom apartments for $3,000. Parking, when available, can cost $300 more per month. The so-called affordable units the city requires in some of those high-density buildings still cost more than $2,000 a month, far beyond the reach of our low- and very low-income residents.
Our mayor and his allies in the construction industry now claim that their rushed approval processes, which ignore neighborhood concerns about the negative impacts of these high-density, high-rise projects, are driving down rental rates. But according to data from RentCafe.comThe recent 1.85% drop in monthly rental rates equates to just $55 per month in savings and a still expensive average monthly rent of $2,938.
Meanwhile, bike lanes and on-street parking restrictions have led to a reduction in parking spaces. Builders find it much more difficult to rent units without off-street parking. Vacancy rates are stable or increasing, which will slow new construction and cause rental rates to resume their rise.
Our city does not have a rental housing “crisis.” But we have a serious shortage of truly affordable housing. Our elected officials' love affair with the construction industry executives who fund their political campaigns demonstrates that private sector and free market strategies will not solve that problem.
Paul Krueger, San Diego
