California Construction News staff writer
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria delivered his 2025 State of the City Address on Jan. 17 (Friday), outlining a plan to increase housing production, tackle homelessness, and improve infrastructure, despite a challenging financial outlook.
Gloria highlighted the city’s significant progress in housing development, with San Diego issuing nearly 10,000 new housing permits in 2023, double the city’s average over the past two decades.
In 2024, despite national economic challenges such as high interest rates and inflation, the city permitted about 8,500 new homes and the mayor announced plans for 2025 to incentivize construction of more affordable housing, including starter homes like townhomes and condos, to help first-time homebuyers enter the market.
“We will continue our focus on building more homes for San Diegans, including those seeking affordable housing and first-time homeownership opportunities,” Gloria said, confirming a new program to encourage the construction of affordable homes would be introduced in the coming months.
Following the failure of Measure E, a proposed sales tax measure rejected by voters in November, San Diego faces a significant budget gap that the Mayor intends to address “without relying on temporary solutions”.
Cost-saving measures already implemented include freezing non-essential hiring and halting non-critical spending. Also, Gloria has called on city departments to reassess their operations and prioritize core services.
“We can no longer do things the same way simply because that’s how they’ve always been done,” he said. “The task ahead is to right-size our city budget—not just for this year, but for the long term.”
The Mayor also made clear that the city cannot rely on federal or state assistance to solve its fiscal problems. “We can’t wait for yet another revenue measure that might fail,” Gloria said, stressing the need for sustainable, long-term solutions.
Homelessness remains a major focus and the mayor is calling on the County of San Diego to increase its provision of mental health and addiction services, which are essential to addressing homelessness.
“We cannot afford to absorb the impact of their inaction any longer,” Gloria said, highlighting the importance of a collaborative, regional approach to homelessness.
The Mayor also addressed infrastructure needs, noting that every dollar spent responding to homelessness that falls outside the city’s responsibility reduces the funds available for road repairs, stormwater upgrades, and public safety investments.