Elo-Rivera, opponent Terry Hoskins talk housing in San Diego’s 9th District forum

City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera faces a challenge this November from political newcomer Terry Hoskins to represent San Diego’s District 9.

The two candidates recently participated in a League of Women Voters candidate forum where they discussed some of the city’s most pressing issues. 

Much of the conversation focused on housing and how the candidates would approach addressing homelessness and encouraging more development.

A former nonprofit leader with a law degree, Elo-Rivera was first elected to the council in November 2020 and has served as president since 2021. Hoskins is a retired Marine Corps sergeant major and San Diego Police officer. 

District 9 covers the neighborhoods of City Heights, College Area, Mount Hope, Normal Heights and more.

The San Diego Documenters, an inewsource program that trains and pays citizens to cover government meetings and community events, covered the forum. Here are highlights of what the candidates said.

On their plans for addressing homeless encampments

Hoskins:

“I was always an advocate for nudging and removing of encampments, not to criminalize it, but … there would never be enough housing to house all the homeless. It doesn’t address the core issues. I’m not hypocritical. … I’m a believer that the quality of life of you is important. And when encampments are right out in your front and it’s trashed every day, those are quality of life issues that you shouldn’t have to deal with. So I am for encampments to be removed. I’m also for nudging.”

Hoskins also pointed out that Elo-Rivera voted against San Diego’s ban on camping in public in most places in the city. 

Elo-Rivera:

He acknowledged that homelessness impacts people experiencing it and “the broader community as well.”

“But I also know that homelessness is not inevitable. …Last year a statewide study was produced — the biggest study of homelessness in decades — 85% of the people who were experiencing homelessness became homeless for financial circumstances. That means it can be prevented. We have to do more to do that, and the city has put forward policies like shallow subsidies to provide seniors and families with children and people with disabilities with a little bit of help to keep them in their homes. … And pushing folks around is not a solution. It is just creating a new problem for those people experiencing homelessness and a new problem for those folks who are in the neighborhood that folks are getting moved to.” 

On their plans to encourage the development of housing along transit corridors, such as El Cajon Boulevard and University Avenue

Elo-Rivera:

Elo-Rivera said most of the property owned along the two transit corridors mentioned is privately owned, which means those private interests would need to want to build affordable housing there to do so, but the city can play a role in encouraging that development. 

“Interest rates have not been going down over the last couple of years, and those interest rates play a huge role in whether or not development actually occurs, especially private development. I’m a supporter of the city taking more assertive action. I put that in my budget proposals the last few years to acquire property for us to develop, and we need to make it easier to build.” 

Hoskins:

“I think the city has incentivized the wrong people. It incentivized developers. That’s why we see a lot of corporate developers purchasing homes, turning them into hotels or Airbnbs.” 

Hoskins questioned why a storage facility was built along El Cajon in an area “where we should have had density.” 

“I don’t believe in eminent domain. I don’t think we’re at that point yet, but I think we need to incentivize the correct people and put density in areas that it belongs.”

On whether the city should continue waiving development impact fees

Elo-Rivera:

Elo-Rivera said the waivers on impact fees are a way to spur affordable housing development and market-rate housing. Without them, the city would see less housing development, he said.

“Most people who are being honest with the numbers would agree that San Diego has not produced enough housing over the decades, and we have a deficit to make up. In order for us to do that, we need to spur development … San Diego has built more housing than many other cities across the state, and the waiver of development impact fees, while difficult to swallow at times is an important piece of the puzzle.”

Hoskins:

Hoskins criticized developer fee waivers and said the city should close loopholes on short-term rentals to open up housing units.

“We should not be continuing to give breaks to developers. Who’s going to pay for the parks, who’s going to pay for the infrastructure, who’s going to pay for the parking that all those density that the developers are utilizing, who’s going to pay it? You are and I am. Not the developers. That’s not right.”

On how to help keep rents affordable and protect tenants against evictions

Hoskins: 

He said he’d support tax credits to housing providers in exchange for seniors getting 10-year leases with fixed rental rates.

“The problem is the developers are buying the mom and pops affordable housing apartments, they’re destroying them, they’re rebuilding and then they’re raising the rate.”

Elo-Rivera:

Elo-Rivera said he’s already pushed protections for renters from no fault evictions in San Diego. 

“Our office took on the most powerful property interests in the state, pushed through that, and passed tenant protections and every renter in San Diego has more protections and seniors have additional protections because nobody should live in fear of being forced out of their home when they’re paying their rent on time and abiding by the terms of their lease.”

On their support for publicly owned housing

Elo-Rivera: 

“That is one of the only ways for California and the United States to get out of the problem that we are in. The worst versions of public housing that people think of, it doesn’t have to be that way. There are models that achieve fantastic outcomes right here in this country and in other parts of the world, and we can do that as well. … But there is no way, no way at all, that we’re going to get out of the housing crisis that we’re in, the affordability crisis that we’re in, if we are dependent solely on a profit-driven model to produce that housing.”

Hoskins: 

 “I agree, I think it’s important that we continue to pursue those options, perhaps even creating a revolving fund that we could finance short-term constructions for mixed housing.… There’s plenty of buildings that this city owns that we can reuse and refurbish and make housing. We just got to do that. It’s easier to reuse buildings than it is to make new buildings. That’s something I think the city needs to focus on.”