Ruling Further Shifts Power of Housing Allocation From Cities

Daily Journal and The Daily Transcript (April 8, 2021) A major shift four years ago in who controls the allocation of housing in San Diego was recently upheld by a Superior Court judge, and the implications could soon be felt statewide. In 2017, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) authored a bill that changed the voting system employed by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) board to make decisions. Instead of both counting the single tally of each board member equally and a weighted vote based on the population of each jurisdiction, the weighted votes can take precedence, giving board members from larger jurisdiction much more power. The city of San Diego, by virtue of its population, is able to muster the equivalent of 42 votes, compared with just one vote for some small cities within the county, according to attorney Heather Riley, a partner with Allen Matkins who specializes in land-use and environmental law. The unincorporated parts of the county receive 15 weighted votes. The issue of SANDAG's unfair voting balance came to the forefront last September, when the cities of Coronado, Solana Beach, Imperial Beach, and Lemon Grove sued the agency for more authority over housing allocation within their municipalities. City of Coronado et al. v. SANDAG et al. Read More (subscription required)