Issue link: http://read.insidecustommedia.com/i/960168
22 ❘ NORTH COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL ❘ SPRING 2018 ❘ sdnedc.org BORRE WINCKEL ■ BUILDING ASSOCIATION CEO OFFERS THOUGHTS ON NORTH COUNTY HOUSING A lthough the Great Recession ended in 2009, housing production across the state of Cali- fornia is lagging both in the need for new housing and more affordable new housing. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed 15 housing bills in late 2017, but according to industry experts, such as Borre Winckel, the President and CEO of the Building Industry Association of San Diego County, the new legislation will not directly address some of the large issues affecting the region, particularly a lack of apartments for younger and senior residents, as well as housing for middle-income families. We caught up with Winckel, and asked him ques- tions about the challenges facing this critical sector of the economy in North San Diego County. ••• What changes or trends do you see happening in North County in 2018 when it comes to housing? For the past five years, housing production – based on building permits issuance – is falling far short of the need. An annual average of 2,433 new units were permitted for the ongoing housing needs of its resi- dent population of 827,000. Of this very low average, more than 60 percent of permit volume is an expen- sive upper-income single family detached housing product. This leaves North County's work force squeezed by the lack of apartment production. Less than 1,000 multi-family units were annually permit- ted over this 5-year time frame. Seniors, millennials and the work force have very poor housing options as both new and rollover units have achieved "scarcity" status. In short, North County's housing ladder is non-existent. The primary reason: It costs more to produce the units that are needed than the overwhelming majority of the region's population can afford. ••• How will the newly signed housing bills signed in California impact market? The 15 bills newly signed into law by the governor are not expected to dent the region's housing problem. These bills fail to address these three key factors. No housing production cost reforms, no relief from litigation based on the wide- spread abuse of environmental regulations, and no meaningful enforcement mechanism to compel cities to approve housing. Meanwhile, new regulations are under consideration which shall make housing even more expensive, such as climate action laws plus re- quirements for prevailing wage and subsidy depend- ent affordable housing. ••• What else needs to be done to make housing more affordable in North County? We lost the entire middle-income housing market. This has huge impli- cations for our regional economy. It takes a rediscov- ery of the political will and the courage to approve more housing by standing up to the NIMBY's. Unless we make housing our population a top policy prior- ity, reform our local housing regulations and embrace reasonable densities for the right locations, the hous- ing crisis will only get bigger. 3 QUESTIONS WITH…