Making an Impact in Poway

For decades Poway has been the most exclusive City in San Diego County. You may be surprised to learn that Coronado and Del Mar have traditionally had more than double the percentage of low income families as Poway.

Poway’s redevelopment project area -at 8,200 acres- covers most of the City. It is the largest project area in San Diego County and the 16th largest out of more than 770 project areas Statewide. The Poway Redevelopment Agency receives millions of tax increment dollars each year from its project area, at least 20 percent of which is required to be set aside in a separate Low and Moderate Income "Housing Fund". Just as its name implies, this Housing Fund must be spent to develop housing which is occupied by and affordable to very low, low and moderate income people and families.

For years, Poway failed to set aside the minimum 20 percent of tax increment into its Housing Fund. What money Poway did set aside, it spent on street improvements throughout the City. When some long-term, low income Poway residents learned of these abuses, they sued to enforce the minimum requirements of State Community Redevelopment Law (CRL). With AHA as their counsel, the residents recovered over $9 million in underfunding and misexpenditures. Craig v. City of Poway, (1994) 28 Cal.App.4th 319. A subsequent suit was settled, with Poway agreeing to build hundreds of new affordable units for very low income seniors and families. As a result of these suits, Poway’s meager stock of 60 affordable units has risen to nearly 500. These units have been built by local nonprofit developers with the help of money AHA recovered for the Housing Fund and development commitments AHA secured under CRL.

To learn more about Poway’s 344 units of affordable, family housing including Park View Terrace (pictured here), Haley Ranch Estates, Hillside Village, Solara and Poway Villas visit nonprofit developer Community HousingWorks’ website at www.chworks.org/affordable_housing/default.asp

To learn more about Poway’s 102 affordable, senior units at Brookview Village, visit San Diego Interfaith Housing Foundation’s website at www.sdihf.org and click on Portfolio.

By enforcing CRL's minimum requirements, AHA acts as a “private attorney general” to ensure that money designated by the State Legislature for affordable housing development is set aside and properly spent and that minimum affordable housing development obligations are met. AHA's work creates opportunities for developers, both for- and non-profit, to help cities and agencies meet their community's and the region's critical need for affordable housing. Most importantly, the affordable housing created helps working families and seniors by providing them with decent and affordable homes, enabling them to afford other necessities.

To support the development of more affordable housing in your community, you can: