County receives 2024 housing progress report, staff flags VMT court ruling and seeks SANDAG grant

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on April 23 received the county's 2024 General Plan and Housing Element Annual Progress Report, heard staff brief the board on housing production figures and legal constraints posed by recent court decisions on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), and authorized staff to apply for a SANDAG Smart Growth Incentive Program grant to fund targeted planning in transit-served areas.

Staff presented key counts used in the state's progress measures: 1,088 housing units in unincorporated areas were issued building permits in 2024 and 954 units were completed and ready for occupancy. The county reported progress toward its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for the unincorporated area of 6,700 units: 430 units were categorized as above-moderate income, 224 as moderate, 285 as low (about 99% of the county's low-income goal), and 149 as very low (about 24% of the very-low-income goal).

The report and staff presentation emphasized that very-low-income units remain the hardest to build and typically require subsidy. Rami Tully, interim assistant director of Planning and Development Services, summarized the county's pipeline and programs, including free preapproved ADU plans, SB 9 streamlining, and…