San Diego County adopts inclusionary-housing rules for unincorporated communities

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors adopted zoning amendments on June 24, 2026, establishing an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance for new housing development in the county’s unincorporated areas.

The action creates a county housing-policy framework under which qualifying new residential development may face affordable-housing requirements or use alternative ways to comply. The ordinance does not apply broadly to all housing across the region: its stated scope is unincorporated San Diego County, rather than incorporated jurisdictions such as the City of San Diego.

Affordable-housing requirements and alternatives

County materials say the ordinance considered requirements governing both the proportion of affordable units in a project and the affordability level of those units. The available information does not state the final percentage of units required or the final income bands adopted by the board.

The policy also includes alternative compliance options. Those options include payment of in-lieu fees, land donations and off-site affordable-housing development. The county’s materials identify those approaches as part of the ordinance’s compliance structure.

That structure means the policy is not described solely as an on-site unit requirement. Depending on the applicable provisions, developers may have alternatives to providing affordable units within the same new housing development.

Who is affected

The ordinance concerns new housing development in the county’s unincorporated communities. Those areas are governed by the county and are distinct from incorporated cities. The source packet specifically cautions that the action should not be described as applying inside the incorporated City of San Diego.

For developers planning new housing in the affected county areas, the ordinance establishes an additional housing-policy framework to consider. For residents and communities in those areas, it sets the county’s approach to seeking affordable-housing participation from covered new development, including through on-site units or the identified alternatives.

The available county information does not provide project-size thresholds, so it does not establish which development sizes will qualify. It also does not provide an implementation schedule or a next effective-date deadline.

Review before adoption

The Board of Supervisors’ action followed public review and review by the San Diego County Planning Commission. The county’s Planning and Development Services department identifies the June 24 action as the adoption of zoning amendments that establish the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.

The source material does not provide a projected number of affordable homes, a forecast of housing production, or an impact analysis. As a result, the available record supports reporting the ordinance’s adoption and its listed compliance tools, but not a conclusion about whether it will increase or reduce total housing construction.