MEANINGFUL PROGRESS MADE ON HOMELESSNESS, HOUSING, INFRASTRUCTURE, CLIMATE ACTION, EQUITY AND MORE
December 10th marked one year since Todd Gloria was sworn in as the 37th Mayor of the City of San Diego. During the past 365 days, he has made progress on the challenges that are top of mind for city residents, including COVID-19, homelessness, housing, climate action, economic development, policing, infrastructure, equity and diversity.
“For the past year, I’ve heard from San Diegans nearly every day, from across the city, and they don’t shy away from telling me what they care about the most. This passion for moving our city forward is one of the things I appreciate most about San Diegans, and it inspires me to work that much harder,” Mayor Todd Gloria said. “We have not only led the City through unprecedented circumstances brought on by the pandemic – we’ve also made strides in addressing the biggest issues of our time, including homelessness and the housing crisis, strengthening our climate efforts and repairing our infrastructure. I’m proud of these achievements and thankful for city workers and the community for helping us accomplish them, but there is much more work ahead of us.”
Highlights from Mayor Gloria’s first year include:
LED SAN DIEGO THROUGH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACTS
Enacted Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for city employees.
Signed an executive order directing stronger enforcement of public-health mandates.
Opened City vaccination site at the Municipal Gym and administered 33,500 vaccine doses.
Successfully advocated for federal officials to lift cross-border travel restrictions at land ports of entry, a policy that had inflicted severe damage on businesses in San Ysidro and separated families unnecessarily.
Supported 1,055 small businesses through City’s COVID-19 small business relief grant program.
Extended a temporary law allowing businesses such as restaurants to operate outdoors during the pandemic and later created the “Spaces as Places” program, which established rules for these businesses to operate outdoors permanently.
COMPREHENSIVELY ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS
Executed a seamless transition and extension of Operation Shelter to Home, which housed nearly 5,000 San Diegans at the San Diego Convention Center during the pandemic. The program connected more than 1,400 residents and 43 families to permanent or long-term housing.
Launched the City’s new Coordinated Street Outreach Program, which employs a compassionate, person-centered, housing-focused, neighborhood-based approach.
Created a new Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department and invested $10 million over and above the City’s existing budget allocation to address homelessness.
Expanded shelter capacity by 17% since Operation Shelter to Home ended on March 31.
KEEPING RESIDENTS IN THEIR HOMES
Created the Housing Stability Assistance Program, which to date has provided nearly $128 million in rent and utility relief to more than 13,000 households.
Enacted a temporary eviction moratorium to protect renters affected financially by COVID-19.
Established a $5 million legal defense fund to aid renters at risk of eviction.
BUILDING MORE HOUSING
Launched the “Homes for All of Us” package of housing initiatives, aimed at creating more housing that residents can afford.
Formed the Middle-Income Housing Working Group to develop and evaluate ideas to spur production of homes for the “missing middle.”
Passed the Barrio Logan Community Plan Update, making this plan the first in San Diego to include strengthened inclusionary-housing measures and anti-displacement protections to safeguard the community’s longstanding residents.
LEADING ON CLIMATE ACTION
Launched San Diego Community Power, the City’s first community-choice energy provider, and committed to operating City facilities with 100% emission-free, renewable energy.
Created the Climate Equity Fund, which dedicates resources for climate-related investments in underserved communities.
Launched the “Our Climate, Our Future” initiative, whose centerpiece is a bold new update of the City’s Climate Action Plan, setting a goal of net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2035.
Ended the City’s investments in fossil fuel companies.
REIMAGINING POLICING AND PRESERVING PUBLIC SAFETY
Proposed a series of reforms to police practices and completed the following:
Appropriately funded the new Independent Commission on Police Practices.
Worked with the District Attorney to eliminate gang injunctions.
Revised the City’s consent-search procedure.
Took steps make sure the Police Department attracts and retains the best candidates.
Removed the Office of Homeland Security as a program of the Police Department.
Signed the “Eliminate Non-serialized Untraceable Firearm (E.N.U.F.) Ordinance” authored by Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, banning ghost guns in the City.
Through intentional recruitment, the Police Department welcomed the most diverse group of new recruits in the department’s history.
CREATING A WELCOMING CITY
Opened the San Diego Convention Center as a temporary shelter for unaccompanied migrant children seeking asylum, providing medical care, legal assistance, education and enrichment activities and ultimately reuniting 2,408 children with family or sponsors in the U.S.
Celebrated the selection of the San Diego-Tijuana region as the 2024 World Design Capital.
GETTING CITY HALL BACK ON TRACK
Restored funding levels for core city services in the Mayor’s “Back to Work SD” budget.
Secured new gas and electric franchise agreements, resulting in a better deal for San Diegans that ensures continued reliable delivery of energy to residents and businesses and creates certainty, accountability and a pathway to achieving climate equity across all neighborhoods.
Restarted the process to redevelop the Sports Arena site to prioritize affordable housing and compliance with state law.
Passed short-term vacation rental regulations, resolving an issue that had vexed the City for years.
INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE
Passed a $293 million plan to invest in infrastructure citywide, including in public safety, mobility and transportation, environmental services, stormwater systems, parks and recreation, City facilities and information technology.
Launched Phase 1 of Pure Water San Diego, the largest and most ambitious infrastructure project in San Diego history, which will supply city residents with nearly half of the water we need by 2035.
MAKING SAN DIEGO MORE EQUITABLE
Appointed the City’s first-ever chief race and equity officer.
Released the City’s first-ever Pay Equity Study.
Passed the Mayor’s “Parks For All of Us” initiative, the centerpiece of which is the first update of the City’s Parks Master Plan for the first time in 65 years, which prioritizes park investments in park-deficient and historically underserved communities.
Released the Mayor’s Empowerment Policy Plan, designed to ensure greater diversity, inclusion, and equity in San Diego for the Black community.
DIVERSIFYING CITY LEADERSHIP
Appointed the most diverse Mayoral administration in City history.
Dramatically increased the diversity on City boards and commissions, particularly adding more women and people of color; to date, 70 percent of Mayor Gloria’s appointments are people of color, and 50 percent are women.
