North County Report: Coastal Cities Struggle on Housing Progress 

When it comes to housing, North County’s coastal cities have a reputation that precedes them. 

Historically, coastal, more affluent cities have been the most resistant to new development and the state’s housing laws that mandate more housing. 

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been looking at how much, or how little, progress North County cities are making toward their state-mandated housing targets. And today, we’re looking at the coast. 

Some background: State housing laws require cities to make way for a certain amount of housing for people in four different income categories: very low, low, moderate and above moderate.  

The state housing department, in consultation with SANDAG, determines the housing goal for the entire county. Then, SANDAG allocates specific numbers to each city.    

Cities in San Diego County have until 2029 to permit enough homes to meet their goals. And each year, they must release their Housing Element Progress Reports to show how they’re progressing toward their targets. 

Del Mar 

In Del Mar, the issue of affordable housing has been a hot topic for the past few years, and here’s why. 

The city is required to make way for 175 total units to meet its overall housing target—a much smaller number than some of the larger cities I recently reported on like Escondido or San Marcos. 

As of 2025, Del Mar has permitted 127 units. It has so far exceeded its goals in the moderate-income and above-moderate-income categories, but the city hasn’t permitted any homes for low-income or very low-income families since the housing cycle started in 2021. 

The city still has to make way for 76 homes for low-income families and 37 homes for very low-income families. According to the city’s progress report, there are eight housing units in the low-income category and four units in the very low-income category that have pending permits. 

This is where it gets interesting: Del Mar is facing immense pressure to build affordable housing and it’s unclear where that housing will go. 

Del Mar officials want to build affordable housing at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.   

In 2024, the 22nd District Agricultural Association (22nd DAA), a state agency that runs the Del Mar Fairgrounds, entered into an Exclusive Negotiating Rights Agreement with the city to study whether and where 61 affordable housing units could be built at the Fairgrounds.  

But twice now, that agreement has almost fallen apart over disagreements between Del Mar leaders and officials at the 22nd DAA.  

A few weeks ago, 22nd DAA board members said at a meeting that it may actually take years for the project to come to fruition, which would be well past a November deadline set by the state’s housing department requiring Del Mar to secure a site at the Fairgrounds and finalize a lease with the 22nd DAA. 

If Del Mar misses that deadline, the city will likely have to move forward with a proposed affordable housing project called Seaside Ridge, which is currently suing the city for repeatedly rejecting the project. You can read more about that saga here. 

Encinitas 

Encinitas’ housing targets are significantly higher than Del Mar’s, totaling 1,554 total housing units for this housing cycle. 

So far, city leaders have permitted 1,566 homes, but the majority of those are in the above-moderate category. In fact, Encinitas has exceeded its above-moderate target by almost 800 homes. 

It still has a lot of ground to cover in the other three categories. The city is about halfway toward meeting its target for homes for moderate-income families. Ideally, cities should be a little past the halfway point in all categories by now. 

But it has fallen behind in the low- and very-low-income categories. In the low-income category, Encinitas has permitted only 76 homes out of its goal of 369. In the very-low-income category, it has permitted 137 homes out of its goal of 469. 

Remember: Encinitas has had a complicated history with state housing laws. I previously reported that, for decades, much of the city’s leadership and a large part of the city’s population were hostile to new development.    

In the past, city leaders have tried multiple times to get around the state’s density bonus law, which allows developers to increase the size of their developments if they include affordable housing units. Encinitas was also six years late in approving its previous Housing Element, a state-required housing plan.  

This earned the small coastal city a few lawsuits from developers and threats of legal action from state officials. 

Lately, city leaders have resigned to complying with the state’s housing policies to avoid repercussions from the state, but the majority of city councilmembers are strong advocates for a proposed ballot initiative that aims to change state housing law in favor of more local control.  

Oceanside 

Oceanside, North County’s largest city, is required to permit 5,443 new units total during this housing cycle, and at the halfway point, it still needs to add 3,117 additional homes to meet its goal. 

The city has permitted more than half of its target in the above-moderate-income category, but has around 955 housing units to go. It’s also halfway toward its moderate-income goal, permitting 485 units as of 2025, with 398 units remaining. 

And like most other cities in the county, Oceanside’s low- and very-low-income categories are lagging the most. 

The city has only issued 88 permits for homes for low-income families, which is about 12 percent of the required number. And in the very-low-income category, the city has issued just 134 permits, which is roughly 10 percent of the goal.  

What happens if cities don’t meet their quotas? If a city doesn’t meet its goals by the end of the housing cycle in 2029, state law says it could face severe penalties. 

Cities who fail to meet their goals will be deemed noncompliant and could face loss of zoning control, steep fines, reduced eligibility for grants, potential lawsuits from the state attorney general’s office, as well as from housing advocates, and more. 

In Other News 

• ICYMI: I recently wrote about how San Marcos made significant progress toward meeting its housing goals, becoming one of the only cities in the county to be on track in most of its categories. Read that story here. (Voice of San Diego) 
• The Del Mar City Council on Tuesday approved the 22nd DAA’s amendments to an exclusivity agreement they entered into in 2024. The agreement now ensures that the potential affordable housing project would align with state housing law and gives the 22nd DAA the final say on if the project will move forward. (Coast News) 
• A report by the Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board found that two Sheriff’s deputies were criminally negligent in the death of a male inmate at the Vista Jail in 2024. (Coast News) 
• Oceanside Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce has announced his re-election campaign for the City Council’s District 1 seat. (Coast News) 

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