Regional Dashboard
1. Land Use - Conserved Land, Parks & Trails
2. Land Use - Residential Development
photo: outdooroutreach.org
1. Land Use – Conserved Land, Parks & Trails
What are the measures?
1)
Number
of acres of conserved land per 1,000 residents
2)
Number
of acres of park (including parks, schoolyards, beaches, forests, mountains and
canyons with public access) per 1,000 residents
How are we doing?
45% of the County’s land mass is protected –
on average, about 460 acres per 1,000
residents – thanks in part to San Diego County’s conservation planning
programs and an active group of nonprofit organizations. Park access across San
Diego County has not changed significantly over the past year. On average,
there are 404 acres of accessible park
per 1,000 people in San Diego County (see Park Access map). However, many
lower income neighborhoods are considered “park poor,” meaning they have fewer
than three acres of green space per 1,000 residents. These communities would
benefit significantly from increased investments to create or protect park
areas and green spaces.
As a result of state budget cuts, 70 state
parks in California, including two in San Diego, have been proposed to be
closed in 2012, some with no plans to reopen. Regularly collected data on trails in the region is not
available.
(Right-click the images to view full-sized versions.)
Why are they important?
- Conserved lands and green spaces not only help to preserve wildlife habitat, but also improve air quality and provide flood and water pollution control.
- Green spaces appeal to tourists and locals alike, increase nearby property values and subsequently contribute to our regional economy.
- Parks and trails contribute to improvements in fitness and overall health of our region’s residents, and foster a sense of community by providing residents and visitors with social and recreational opportunities.
How can we improve?
Policy Options:
- Encourage joint use and partnering to leverage existing green spaces such as schools and public facilities, especially in “park poor” communities.
- Transform rooftops into parks or public gardens and construct “parklets,” tiny urban public spaces carved out of underused road or sidewalk space to attract tourists and improve business.
- Focus on creation of safe, multi-use parks for multiple age groups within walking or biking distance of dense residential and mixed-use development.
- Consider construction of freeway “lids,” covers over sections of major interstates, to mitigate noise pollution, improve nearby air quality, facilitate wildlife movement, increase local property values, improve regional aesthetics, and provide conveniently located parks with trails for walking, jogging and bicycling.
- Support the Multiple Species Conservation Plan for North County, which will provide for critical habitat and give developers more certainty about where they can and cannot build.
photo: Rafael Rivera, rafaelstuio.com
2. Land Use - Residential Development
What is the measure?
The number
of acres developed or zoned for residential use for every additional 100
persons in San Diego County.
How are we doing?
From 2010-2011, residential land use
development once again outpaced
population growth, returning to the pre-recession trend shown in historical
data from the early 2000s. While the economic downturn slowed residential
development over the past several years, as of September 2011, year-to-date
housing building permit totals showed San Diego up 127% compared to the first
nine months of 2010, with the vast
majority of new construction in apartments and condos rather than
single-family homes.
Why is it important?
- Well-designed, strategic density of land use can make our neighborhoods more livable, affordable and sustainable as we meet the challenge of accommodating another 650,000 people in the region in the next 20 years.
- Providing housing in a range of prices throughout the region is vital to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce.
- Developing compact residential communities near job centers reduces traffic congestion and thereby improves air quality. It also reduces fuel costs and travel time for commuters as well as infrastructure costs associated with less efficient, sprawling patterns of development.
How can we improve?
Policy Options:
- Streamline permitting, revise zoning ordinances, design guidelines and create incentives to encourage infill development in town centers or urban areas and secondary dwelling units (aka “in-law apartments”) in other neighborhoods.
- Consider flexible parking requirements to reduce the cost and space needed for residential development that is within walking distance of transit.
- Create incentives for developers to build a larger volume of cost-effective, mixed income housing, such as the 80/20 Housing Program employed in New York City, which provides tax-exempt financing to multifamily rental developments in which at least 20% are set aside for low-income residents, while the remaining 80% can be rented at market rates.