Dear Neighbor,

The holiday season is here, which means it's time to show our love and support for our local small businesses.

The Small Business Saturday event held in North Park and other local shopping districts over the weekend kicked off what I know will a busy next couple of weeks for small businesses across our city. Each neighborhood in San Diego boasts its own set of local businesses that contribute to our city's cultural landscape.

Shopping local and spending money at small businesses not only supports our entrepreneurs, but also helps our city maintain its distinct character.

Your dollars really do help keep mom-and-pop shops' doors open, which keeps our city alive and activated.

Small businesses also offer the kind of personalized service and thoughtful gifts you truly won’t find anywhere else. And when you shop local, it gives you an opportunity to connect with your neighbors, discover hidden gems, and strengthen the bonds that make San Diego such a special place to live.

As always, it’s an honor to serve as your Mayor.

Housing Action Package 2.0 Back at City Council in December

After a disappointing delay, I have worked with City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera to bring an amended version of my proposed Housing Action Package 2.0 to the City Council for approval next month.

This package consists of a series of policy proposals that work to encourage the construction of more new homes near transit, provide protections to existing residents and ultimately incentivize and promote new home opportunities in all communities that San Diegans of all income levels can afford.

The package going in front of City Council on Dec. 12 will include amendments that help strike a balance of increasing housing supply and ensuring healthy economic integration in our communities.

The lack of affordable housing in San Diego is connected to every major challenge our city faces — from homelessness, to the high cost of rent, to our ability to recruit and retain talent and businesses in our city.

We must increase housing supply in order to bring down housing costs. This Housing Action Package will help us do that.

City Funding Helps Create Hundreds of New Affordable Homes

A City program will help fund the construction of 400 new affordable homes for San Diegans.

As part of Round 3 of the City’s Bridge to Home program funding, the City’s Economic Development Department (EDD) is recommending $15.4 million for five projects that would create 400 new affordable units, with 96 permanent supportive housing units for some of our most vulnerable populations.

These new affordable homes for seniors, families and people at-risk of homelessness will be located in Hillcrest, City Heights, Palm City/Nestor, Pacific Beach and Clairemont. Two of the projects will include onsite daycare.

My Bridge to Home Program launched in 2021. Administered by the City’s EDD, the program provides gap financing to qualified developers to help make affordable housing projects a reality and create homes for families and individuals who can’t afford market-rate housing.

The total investment in Bridge to Home so far has helped fund 937 affordable homes in Rancho Bernardo, City Heights, El Cerrito, Downtown, Encanto and San Ysidro, including 272 homes with attached supportive services for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless.

Bridge to Home is one important part of my overall efforts to help produce more homes that are affordable for all San Diegans.

Mayor Gloria Signs Smart Streetlights, New Safe Sidewalk Program into Law

The No. 1 job of government is to ensure residents are safe. I have signed two measures into law that will make San Diego safer: the Smart Streetlights and Safe Sidewalks programs.

The first allows for the City to finally move forward in activating 500 Smart Streetlight cameras and deploy Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology. This comes with new parameters governing the oversight and use of this technology to ensure privacy rights are protected, while also enhancing the safety of our communities.

The second enacts the City’s new Safe Sidewalk Program, which will make it easier and cheaper for property owners to repair damaged and dangerous sidewalks.

San Diego K-12 Students Invited to Submit Essay for Annual ‘Mayor for a Day’ Contest

The 2023-2024 “Mayor for a Day” contest is now live!

The “Mayor for a Day” contest aims to foster and encourage leadership in young people living in San Diego.

City of San Diego K-12 students are invited to submit a brief essay (approximately 500 words) or short video (no more than 3 minutes) on how you would make the City of San Diego a better place if you were the Mayor.

The selected winner will be given the opportunity to shadow Mayor Todd Gloria and other City Departments for a day and will be included in the State of the City address in January of 2024.

Read more about the "Mayor for a Day" contest in the San Diego Union Tribune. Please submit an essay or video by 11:59 p.m. Dec. 15, 2023.

GETTING IT DONE: FIXING OUR STREETS

Resurfaced Roads in Torrey Hills

We’re fixing streets in Torrey Hills! City crews are also set to begin resurfacing roads in and around Clairemont, La Jolla, Mira Mesa and University City, over the next few weeks. Check which roads are undergoing resurfac ing here.

MAYOR GLORIA AROUND TOWN

A Turkey Trot for a Good Cause

One of my Thanksgiving Day traditions is joining thousands of San Diegans for Father Joe’s annual Thanksgiving Day 5K. The community run and walk has become a valued San Diego tradition that works to keep people healthy through the holidays while also helping to provide crucial funds to feed the homeless through Father Joe’s Villages’ meal program. Father Joe’s is one of the City-funded service providers helping us address homelessness in San Diego.

Sharing a Thanksgiving Meal with Neighbors in Need

I had the honor of helping serve a Thanksgiving meal to community members at the annual Scott Carlson/Dan Ferbal Community Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by the Imperial Court de San Diego. This free community event served about 500 neighbors who had nowhere to spend the holiday. This tradition started as a way to serve LGBTQ+ people living with AIDS or HIV who were shunned by their families. Over the years, the dinner has grown and is now open to anyone who wants or needs a safe space to eat and celebrate.

Small Business Saturday in North Park

It was great to be back in North Park for Shop Local to help kick-off the holiday shopping season. This was our third year in a row highlighting this great San Diego neighborhood – a perfect place for everything that Shop Local represents and for San Diegans to find thoughtful one-of-a-kind gifts for the holidays.

Kicking off the Holiday Season at Liberty Station

I got to help kick off the holiday season with a tree lighting alongside thousands of San Diegans at Liberty Station. Be sure to go to this exciting arts and entertainment district to shop local while you cross some names off your holiday list, check out the holiday decorations, enjoy live performances, eat great food or have some family fun on the ice-skating rink.

COMMUNITY UPDATES

Join a City Board or Commission Today!

Want to get involved in your community or city government? There are dozens of exciting and fulfilling volunteer opportunities at the City of San Diego through service on a City Board or Commission.

Consider joining our Commission on Police Practices. This impactful Commission reviews and evaluates serious complaints brought by the public against officers of the Police Department of the City of San Diego, reviews all officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths, reviews and evaluates the administration of discipline arising from sustained complaints and more.

December Nights Tradition is Back

It’s almost time for the City of San Diego’s free holiday festival – December Nights!

Join us in Balboa Park for December Nights 2023 on Friday, Dec. 1, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 2, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., to celebrate the spirit of the holiday and enjoy our amazing Family Zone with free photos with Santa, lights displays, musical performances, attractions, delicious food, and more!

Please visit the new December Nights website for more information.

City of San Diego to Keep Ocean Beach Pier Closed Through Storm Season

As a result of recent damage and with the potential for additional structural impairment from the upcoming storm season, the City of San Diego will keep the Ocean Beach Pier closed through the early part of 2024.

San Diego Lifeguards closed the pier on Oct. 20 as a precaution during high surf conditions. While it was closed, the pier incurred surface damage and has remained closed since. Once the storm season has passed, the City will reassess and determine the next steps for the iconic 57-year-old pier.

The City has hosted a series of community workshops to gather input from San Diegans about what they want to see in a potential pier replacement. During the most recent workshop in September, the City unveiled three preliminary design concepts: The Squint Test, The Remora and The Braid.

The project is currently in the preliminary engineering and planning phase and still needs to go through additional review, including California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act permitting, other regional agency permitting, design and construction.

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Office of the Mayor

202 C St., 11th Floor

San Diego, CA 92101

619-236-6330

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