Opinion: Privileged homeowners like me shouldn’t resist new housing

A building inspector at a construction site in San Diego Image from city video Eleven years ago my family moved into a home in Mission Hills Like multiple two-income households at the time we were fortunate we bought at the right moment in the right ZIP code and raised our daughters surrounded by great schools walkable streets and reliable city services But as we thrived it became painfully clear how inadequate others had that chance and how little our neighborhoods were doing to welcome others In San Diego s highest-resource areas we ve gained so much equity access and stability Now it s time to do our part and make room for others In current times even our own college-aged daughters can t afford to live near where they grew up Neither can the teachers care workers or utility staff we rely on every day In April according to Realtor com the San Diego areas s median home sale price was requiring a household income of approximately to afford it That math absolutely doesn t work for majority people especially in areas like ours that have long resisted new housing and services This isn t about blame It s about fairness and about choosing a better future If our communities have the parks schools libraries and transit that make them great why should only a shrinking group of homeowners get access to them That kind of exclusion is often subtle dressed up as concern for neighborhood character hidden behind progressive yard signs or justified by fears about parking and shadows But the impact is clear the people who make San Diego work are being pushed out of the places with the the majority opportunity In a great number of neighborhoods including mine the loudest resistance often comes from just a scarce of the the majority persistent voices No on SB signs remain posted opposing state regulation aimed at increasing housing density near transit The proposed supportive housing at the former Mission Hills Library H-Barracks and Hope Vine were rejected The Sassan apartments offering specific of the majority affordable rents in the neighborhood faced ridicule for their color and cost Even the height of the in-demand One Mission Condominiums was reduced after society opposition Now a minimal homeowners from my neighborhood have filed a lawsuit to stop the city from charging us for trash pickup a operation renters in multifamily buildings have been paying for years These fights aren t about fairness They re about protecting every last legacy privilege even as others struggle just to find a home These decisions are often shaped by region planning groups dominated by long-time homeowners and by commission meetings held on weekday mornings when working families can t attend It s no surprise that San Diego ranks near the top of U S metro areas where Millennials have the lowest homeownership rates compared to Baby Boomers I understand that change is hard and that maintaining a certain lifestyle can feel deeply personal Parking is tight Infrastructure feels stretched But these are solvable problems when we allow development in the right places And those places include neighborhoods like Mission Hills Clairemont and our coastal areas We have the sidewalks the services the stability We can absorb selected of the housing we desperately need if we stop saying no If teachers could afford to live near the local elementary school we wouldn t face chronic staffing shortages If operation workers lived closer to their jobs they wouldn t need to drive in and circle for parking each day Welcoming new neighbors doesn t mean losing what we love It means keeping it alive More housing helps keep schools open local businesses thriving and future generations within reach of the lives their parents built We don t have to give up the things that make our neighborhoods special we just have to stop treating them as if they re off-limits to others Here s what saying yes could literally look like supporting affordable ADUs and gentle density near transit welcoming shelters and services in every district and showing up when our locality plans are updated not just when we want to stop something In the end this isn t about buildings It s about people and about what kind of San Diego we want to leave behind We benefited Let s pay it forward Wesley Morgan is treasurer of YIMBY Democrats of San Diego He has lived in Mission Hills for years