San Diego Unified staff may get more than 2,388 housing units on school sites following decisions made at two meetings this week.  The San Diego Unified Board of Trustees took the next steps to open workforce housing on school sites by authorizing staff to enter negotiations for four sites. The dis trict aims to provide subsidized housing for 10% of its workforce by 2030. School districts around California have pursued housing development for staff, as the state faces a housing shortage. The developments approved by San Diego Unified School District will be joint-use occupancy agreements with rental apartments, where the district will keep land and collect a share of revenue from the developers. For board members, the dominant drive behind the approvals was to maximize the number of subsidized units for their staff. Board members also pushed for developers to have plans with two- and three-bedroom units, so that families could live there. Board President Richard Barrera said after the meetings that the multi-bedroom apartments could also contribute to helping the district fight enrollment declines as families with school-age kids would then be able to afford to live in the buildings. “Our dual big challenges are recruiting and retaining quality educators and declining enrollment of students,” he said. The most ambitious of the four sites, which is the current district headquarters at 4100 Normal St. in University Heights, was also the most controversial. Its approval drew more than 50 public commenters on the different proposals presented by developers, with some favoring the plan offering the most housing and others argued against its approval. Marc Johnson, member of the Community Coalition of University Heights and president of the University Heights Community Association, said that while none of the proposals meet all of the goals supported by the community, a different developer than the one selected — the Monarch proposal for the site — had shown the most willingness to work with them. He also served on the evaluation committee. “It would overwhelm the neighborhood,” he said. Other public commenters pushed for the more ambitious project. Wesley Morgan, an uptown resident and treasurer of the YIMBY Democrats of San Diego, asked for maximum height to leave adjoining space for parks, plazas and walkable public areas. He said lower buildings spread pavement. He also, among other considerations, asked to maximize the total number of subsidized units.  “Please maximize height so you can create real green spaces,” he said. On this site, San Diego Educators Association President Kyle Weinberg also stated preferences for maximized number of units, as well as multi-bedroom apartments for families to address declining enrollment. He also said that they needed mixed-income housing within that affordable housing. “So that our children are growing up and benefitting from diverse exposure to children from all different backgrounds,” he said. On different sites, board members expressed their preferences for child care facilities on-site, as well as that the developments do not feel aesthetically akin to military housing. “I just don’t like that kind of sterile,” said Sharon Whitehurst-Payne about the Revere Center proposal. She said she doesn’t want it thought of as “just school housing.” The four sites, with numbers sent out by the district in a news release, that were approved by the trustees were: Eugene Brucker Education Center in University Heights: A plan from Protea + Malick that will have 1,500 subsidized workforce units aimed at those with 50% of area median income, or $57,900 annual income for an individual, to 120% of median income, or $109,800 for an individual annually. 2101 Commercial St. property in Logan Heights: A plan from Mirka Investment that will have 174 subsidized workforce units from 30% of median income, $34,750 annual income for an individual, to 80% median income, or $92,700 annually for an individual. Fremont/Ballard Center in Old Town: A plan from Monarch/ Eden that will have 420 workforce units from 30% of median income to market rate. Revere Center in Linda Vista: A plan from Community Housing Works that will have 294 affordable workforce units from 30% of median income to 120% median income. Renters can be below the income threshold, but cannot be above it. The district had previously approved staff entering negotiations for the Instructional Media Center at 2441 Cardinal Lane in December for 107 units of affordable workforce housing for a total of 2,495 units. Staff will move forward to negotiate with developers based on concerns of the board.  The district had been primed to take the next steps with all five of the properties last month, before a split board voted to move to hearing from the developers directly at meetings. Barrera, who had proposed the further meetings last month, said after the meetings that the benefit of speaking with developers was that the board could make its intentions clearer and would be able to push developers. “The projects are going to be better, and the public has had much more of a chance to see what’s being proposed and weigh in,” he said. In 2024, district trustees approved a plan to turn Central Elementary in City Heights into 327 rent-restricted units, 270 of which were for district staff.  The district’s first real estate partnership was the Livia at Scripps Ranch, which has 264 units, 53 of which are for low-income families. Priority is given to district families. Barrera said after the meetings that the push for workforce housing started around a decade ago, and he didn’t think it would be as big.  “I don’t think we envisioned doing something to the scale of what we approved last night,” he said.  ...read more read less