At SANDAG, we understand that housing is one of the most critical issues facing our region. For decades, we have not had enough affordable housing to meet the urgent needs of our growing population. This challenge is further intensified by ambitious climate and housing targets set by the state. The State of California has mandated that San Diego needs 171,685 housing units by 2029, with three out of five of those required to be affordable. That's why SANDAG aims to help the region build more affordable housing faster.
One of SANDAG’s primary roles in housing is to develop a Board-approved methodology for the state-required Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process. Every eight years the California Department of Housing and Community Development determines the number of new housing units each region must plan for to accommodate future growth. SANDAG's methodology distributes the total units assigned to our region across each of the 18 cities and the County of San Diego.
SANDAG’s Housing Acceleration Program (HAP) supports local jurisdictions as they develop and adopt policies and process improvements that help advance the region's housing goals. By leveraging funding from the state through the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) grant program, SANDAG has identified housing policy priorities and implementation actions to further housing production across the region. This involves providing grants and giving local agencies technical assistance, data, and resources they need to support housing development and housing-related funding.
