Morning Report: Blame It on the VMT?
EM - News Moderator 
County supervisors on Wednesday got a briefing from planning officials on a slew of land use policies, including a notorious one meant to reduce driving and greenhouse gas emissions.
Developers have claimed in recent years that the vehicle miles traveled policy – often dubbed VMT – forced by state law has halted homebuilding in unincorporated areas so this chart that county staff presented documenting housing got some attention.
The chart compared housing production trends in the unincorporated area over the last three decades with those in the state, nation, western states and throughout San Diego County, including incorporated cities. The blue line representing the unincorporated county dropped sharply the last few years.
“It looks like the blue line was following all the other trends there, but it looks like in 2022-ish, all the other indicators are going up, and the unincorporated area of San Diego County is dropping like a rock, so what happened there?” County Supervisor Jim Desmond asked.
Vince Nicoletti, the county’s Planning & Development Services director, said multiple larger projects that had been underway wrapped up construction.
Desmond pressed him. “So that didn’t have anything to do with VMT, that drop off?”
It’s hard to isolate any one factor, Nicoletti said.
More Cities Pass Immigrant Protection Laws
Chula Vista has become the first South County city to follow in San Diego’s footsteps by passing enhanced immigrant protections, reports our Jim Hinch.
Cities can do very little to stop federal immigration enforcement, but they can limit the ways in which they cooperate with federal authorities and also attempt to help immigrants in other ways.
As part of the new law, Chula Vista will now educate undocumented immigrants about their rights, bar federal authorities from entering certain public areas without a warrant and prevent city contractors from disclosing the immigration status of employees.
The measure was relatively uncontroversial in Chula Vista and sailed through Council. Republican Mayor John McCann abstained from voting. He said that his side gig as a Navy reservist prevented him from bucking federal law.
Further north: In Vista, an almost identical proposal was much more controversial. More than 100 public speakers packed City Council chambers to weigh in.
Vista Mayor John Franklin came out against the measure. He called his council colleagues who proposed it “radical extremists,” reports our Tigist Layne.
“What we are doing is identifying the city of Vista, which will now be added to the administration’s list of sanctuary cities and we will now be targeted,” Franklin said. “The federal funding that we receive as a city will be in jeopardy because of this policy.”
Franklin and Councilmember Dan O’Donnell, who supported the measure, argued back and forth, raised their voices and traded “accusations about honesty and decorum,” writes Layne.
The measure ultimately passed 3-2.
Read that story as well as more North County News here.
Councilmember Sees Balboa Park Parking Fees as Temporary Fix
During Tuesday’s City Council vote on Balboa Park parking fees, Councilmember Marni von Wilpert characterized the measure as a temporary fix to the city’s budget woes. She had a more permanent one in mind instead.
“This is the kind of fee I’d like to see go away if we are able to pass a sales tax (increase) next year,” von Wilpert said.
It’s unclear whether the San Diego City Council will try to bring a ballot measure next year.
A coalition of labor unions are pushing a citizens-led sales tax measure for the November 2026 ballot. At the Rules Committee Wednesday, a slew of ballot measure proposals for June 2026 were presented. They ranged from funding stormwater infrastructure to keeping parking at Balboa Park free on Sundays.
It’s a strong indication the city is scrambling for revenue.
Many councilmembers still have beef with the Balboa Park parking plan, and whether it just creates another burden for San Diegans.
“To propose a sales tax and then simultaneously say there needs to be belt-tightening to fix our city’s budget woes, does not feel consistent to me and does not feel like we’re telling the full story to city residents,” said Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera.
In Other News
- State regulators are recommending that investor-owned utility companies like SDG&E earn a smaller profit next year on capital projects. The profit margin would drop from 10.23 percent to 9.8 percent if approved. (Union-Tribune)
- Recent rains have apparently caused a stark uptick in potholes. At least 249 have been reported since last Thursday. (CBS 8)
- Randy Jones, the first Padre to win the Cy Young award, died Tuesday. He still holds several franchise records, including shut outs and innings pitched. (NBC 7)
- Some visitors to the San Diego airport can now accompany their loved ones all the way to the flight gate. The airport will begin issuing a limited number of daily passes that can be applied for up to seven days in advance. (KUSI & FOX 5)
- San Diego home prices fell again in October. Prices were down 2.5 percent year over year. (NBC 7)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, Will Huntsberry and Mariana Martínez Barba. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
The post Morning Report: Blame It on the VMT? appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
