A plan to add more housing and jobs to the University City area was signed into law Tuesday.
The University Community Plan Update was unanimously approved by the San Diego City Council late last month. This plan, which replaces the 1987 plan, hopes to double the population to nearly 130,000 people by adding 29,000 housing units. It also aims to add 72,000 new jobs through building millions of square feet of commercial projects.
University Community Planning Group Chair Chris Nielsen said their main objective was to create a framework to guide growth in the area over the next 25 years.
“This is setting the table for what could be possible,” he said.
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San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said the multi-decade plan is a blueprint for, “how the community will grow in a responsible fashion, that protects the quality of life for existing residents while accommodating new residents.
Gloria also sends a “strong message” to students at UC San Diego saying, "If they’re willing to work hard and contribute to our economy, we will invite them to stay here, to build a family here, to build wealth here and build a future here.”
Will Moore, policy counsel at Circulate San Diego, said he is in favor of that plan.
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“These plans only get updated about once every 30 years, so if you look at doubling in 30 years that’s a 2.4% annual increase and the housing doesn’t all go in at once and doesn’t get built the same day. What this does is authorize a plan, so it’s not all 'willy-nilly' for housing to go in specific places,” Moore said.
University City resident Bonnie Kutch said she is all for responsible density in her University City neighborhood but she has concerns.
"This is not smart growth," Kutch said. "This is poor planning — very poor planning."
“No one agrees on what the exact right amount of growth is, but we could agree that no growth was not an option,” Nielsen said.
