The upcoming mayoral election in San Diego is gaining attention, with a growing focus on the need to protect single-family neighborhoods. To understand this issue, it's crucial to remember why single-family communities were established in the first place. In the 1930s, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Administration created redlining maps, which identified where people of color and the poor lived in major U.S. cities. These maps were used to withhold federal funding and resources from these neighborhoods, perpetuating poverty and segregation.

Today, many cities, including San Diego, still exhibit significant racial segregation, reflecting this dark history. Despite demographic shifts, where over half of San Diego's residents are people of color, the legacy of discriminatory housing practices continues to persist. This raises moral questions about how the city and local candidates can justify laws rooted in the Jim Crow era, which confine many people of color to low-income, high-crime communities.

In a time marked by rising social consciousness, particularly following the killing of George Floyd, there is a growing consensus that these discriminatory housing practices must be addressed. The article underscores the need to confront this historical injustice and calls on candidates and the city to take action against these outdated laws and practices.

LISC San Diego, in partnership with a coalition of organizations including the Urban League of San Diego County, the Chicano Federation, Casa Familiar, the San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce, National Black Contractors Association, and MAAC, is taking a stand against exclusionary zoning laws and policies. They have called on Council President Georgette Gómez and Councilmembers Monica Montgomery and Vivian Moreno, representing segregated and economically challenged districts, to lead the effort to end such laws, particularly single-family zoning.

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Their proposal involves amending the city's 2015 Small Lot Subdivisions ordinance to apply it citywide, including in single-family zoned neighborhoods. This change would allow homeowners to subdivide their lots for sale or rental, increasing middle-income housing options and expanding wealth-building opportunities while also boosting the housing supply and reducing rents.

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The coalition emphasizes that these changes are essential to ending exclusionary zoning laws that have perpetuated racial segregation since the 1930s. They argue that with a significant portion of San Diego County residents living in poverty, there is an urgent need to take action rather than creating more advisory committees.

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The article concludes by calling on all candidates, especially mayoral candidates, to publicly commit to ending segregationist planning policies in San Diego and support the coalition's efforts to amend and expand the Small Lot Subdivisions Ordinance of 2015, recognizing the city's racially discriminatory housing history and the need for a more equitable future.

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