SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego leaders have been working to bring more affordable housing to the city through the Complete Communities plan, but several neighborhoods are pushing back against massive developments they say will change their communities’ character.

The Complete Communities plan provides incentives for developers to build more housing units. However, residents in Mission Hills, Golden Hill, Encanto, and Hillcrest are fighting proposed projects.

I first started looking into this a week ago when the president of Preserve Golden Hill told me about their fight against massive developments being brought to their neighborhood. A judge recently paused an apartment from being built in Golden Hill after the community filed a lawsuit.

That conversation eventually led me to Mission Hills, where residents are fighting a similar battle.

A proposed 12-story development could be built on the corner of Goldfinch and Ft Stockton Drive if the development meets all the permit requirements under the city’s Complete Communities plan.

Doug Poole has lived in Mission Hills for 15 years. He and his dog find peace in their daily walks, but he worries the proposed building will disrupt the neighborhood.

“Everything that we do is, is right here,” Poole said.

“I have a dog I take to the park up here, uh, every day,” Poole said.

“It’s only gonna be 5 ft from that building behind me, and it would completely block all of the views from, from, uh, that window,” Poole said.

Poole is concerned that the housing will be priced above market rate and that the Complete Communities plan does not require developers to include parking in transit priority areas.

“I wanna make it clear that we’re not against development. Uh, what we’re against is development that completely changes the character of a neighborhood,” Poole said.

“Some people are going to have cars, and right now it’s already crowded, so I don’t know where they would go,” Poole said.

Margaret Virissimo is the founder of San Diego United Communities, a group that has helped multiple neighborhoods stop massive developments through lawsuits. Like Poole, Virissimo said the group isn’t against housing developments, but they want them to fit the neighborhood’s characteristics and be affordable.

“Since Complete Communities passed and SB 79 came our way, things have changed in, uh, San Diego and it is now becoming a, uh, concrete juggle without any community input or conversations,” Virissimo said.

“We’re losing a lot of that historical, um, housing, uh, for the future for the future generation to be able to purchase,” Virissimo said.

While walking the neighborhood with Poole, he showed me a letter the Mission Hills Community Review Council’s attorney sent to the city in December. The letter outlines four major areas where the proposed development violates Complete Communities’ height restrictions.

Poole said they have not received a response.

I took their concerns to the city Tuesday morning.

The city said in a statement:

“Like many cities throughout California and the nation, San Diego faces a housing shortage and affordability crisis. This stems in part from decades of insufficient new home construction to keep pace with demand. Over the past three years, the City has permitted an average of 8,700 homes. New homes are being built near jobs, schools and transit, which provides people with opportunities to live in places where it is quicker to get to work, school and services. The City is continuing its work to help increase the housing supply and affordability across all neighborhoods and for people of all incomes. Removing barriers to new home construction while having clear rules in place to ensure that new development enhances neighborhoods is a key goal in the City’s efforts. This means that San Diego’s younger generations can stay in San Diego, raise a family and overall contribute to a growing economy that benefits everyone.”

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SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A San Diego County supervisor will introduce a first-time homebuyer pilot program focused on down-payment assistance, interest-rate buy-downs and partnerships during the regular Tuesday meeting.

Supervisor Jim Desmond’s proposal includes directing Chief Administrative Officer Ebony Shelton’s office to assess how the program would benefit new homebuyers in the unincorporated area.

That analysis would cover:

• opportunities for public-private partnerships, including financial institutions as a way to secure better terms for applicants
• potential down-payment assistance
• interest rate options to improve mortgage affordability
• criteria designed to complement two existing first-time programs that help with down payment and closing costs, and down payments for moderate- income residents
• an estimate of how much the program would cost, along with safeguards and strategies to lower risk

The CAO and staff would report back to the Board of Supervisors within 120 days.

Desmond briefly discussed the proposal during his final State of North County speech on March 12.

His board letter states that data from the California Association of Realtors shows that only 13% of county households can afford to purchase a median-priced home as of last year.

Along with home prices, factors such as stagnant wage growth, limited inventory and higher interest rates “have combined to push homeownership out of reach for a significant portion of the local population,” Desmond stated in the board letter.

In a video promoting the measure, Desmond said “the very people who serve our communities are being priced out.”

He added that owning a home “isn’t about property — it’s about dignity, it’s about stability. It’s also about giving families a foundation to build wealth and put down roots.”

Desmond, first elected as the District 5 supervisor in 2018, will complete his second term in January. The Republican is running for Congress in the 48th Congressional District, seeking to succeed Rep. Darrell Issa, R- Bonsall.

The proposal is item No. 25 on the board agenda. The meeting will begins at 9 a.m. in the Board Chamber of the county Administration Building, 1600 Pacific Highway.

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A longtime fixture in Chula Vista Harbor is being told to shove off. The 137-foot schooner Bill of Rights, a replica tall ship that’s doubled as a floating classroom in San Diego’s South Bay for decades, has been ordered to vacate its berth by May 5, according to its nonprofit operator, the South Bayfront Sailing Association. The group says Safe Harbor Marina, acquired last year by Blackstone Infrastructure, terminated the lease without giving a clear explanation, NBC San Diego reports. The Bill of Rights has been docked in Chula Vista since 2013.

The 1971-built vessel hosts youth programs that teach seamanship, navigation, and teamwork, with students as young as 10 standing watch and steering under supervision. With eviction looming, supporters have launched a national letter-writing push and an online petition, and Chula Vista’s mayor and several city council members have publicly backed keeping the ship in place. “All tall ships from all over America know that Chula Vista exists—they’re all writing letters,” says Susan Johnson of the South Bayfront Sailing Association. “People are reaching out to elected officials and even contacting Blackstone directly.”

For now, scheduled visits from Scouts, Navy Sea Cadets, and other student groups are still on the calendar. “We primarily do training for at-risk youth, US Navy Sea Cadets, and ROTC,” Captain Don Johnson, a disabled Vietnam veteran, tells 10 News. “Basically, to preserve maritime history. To provide education for youth.” He says he’s “optimistic” the community response will keep the Bill of Rights from sailing off for good. “I’ve had this dock built for a tall ship because there aren’t places for it,” Johnson says. “If they do indeed evict us, which they’ve said they’re doing, I have nowhere to go.”