North County’s housing shortage affects the people our communities depend on—teachers, nurses, and firefighters —as well as young families trying to buy their first home. In a sustainable housing market, working San Diegans earning between $50k-$70k could afford a home priced around $180,000–$200,000 without exceeding the standard 30% of income on housing costs.
But here, the median home price is $847,000—more than four times what’s affordable at that income level, making homeownership unattainable for most working families and pushing rents higher.
My spouse and I have lived this reality. While expecting our first child, we searched for a home within a 30- to 45-minute commute of our jobs. Every viable option was priced far beyond our reach. The only realistic choice was to remain in our small condo while we build an ADU on my parents’ property—an option that, remarkably, costs less than buying anything within commuting distance of our jobs.
Many young San Diegans are making the same calculation: either accept crushing commutes, spend a substantial amount of their income on housing costs, or leave the region entirely. Unfortunately, many are choosing the latter. From 2013 to 2017, more than 40,000 California teachers left their jobs, citing high housing costs.
A proposed law, SB 79, would begin to close the gap between salaries, commutes, and costs. It allows apartments to be built within a half-mile of major transit stops if projects meet objective standards. The goal is straightforward: put homes where the jobs and transit already exist, and remove the years-long delays caused by subjective, political review.
While SB 79 would be a giant step toward ending our affordability crisis, it does so while respecting elements of local control, allowing our communities to continue to thrive. The bill preserves building codes and environmental safeguards, requires 7–13% of units to be affordable to lower-income households, and limits height to four to six stories unless immediately adjacent to the station. Crucially, it only applies within a half-mile of frequent trains or express buses with a dedicated road.
We have already invested nearly half a billion dollars to build the SPRINTER rail line. By allowing more homes near transit, we can reduce commutes, strengthen ridership, and make these investments pay off for the people they were meant to serve.
The choice is clear: use the land near transit to house workers who keep North County running or keep watching them leave.
Catherine Ferguson is a land use attorney in Escondido and Policy Co-Chair for the YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County. She was born and raised in Escondido.
