Poway Housing Solution

What is affordable housing?
Affordable housing provides a safe, well-maintained, attractive, and sustainable homes to low and moderate-income families and seniors who might otherwise be unable to continue living in their hometown and near their families and jobs. Rent or mortgage payments never exceed one-third of the household income.

Is affordable housing important?
It’s more important than you realize. A sizeable portion of the people who work in Poway – teachers, firefighters, librarians, and store clerks –couldn’t afford to live in our city without the communities provided by affordable housing. Studies show that affordable housing helps to strengthen local families, sustains economic prosperity, and generally improves the quality of life for everyone in Poway.

Why does Poway need affordable housing?
Affordable housing encourages upward mobility by enabling residents to save for higher education and homeownership. In addition, affordable housing is required by state law, as all cities in California must provide sufficient housing opportunities for the State’s growing population. Because of this law, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) develops a Regional Housing Allocation Plan every two years to determine the number of affordable housing units Poway must have in place.

Where is Poway’s affordable housing?
Poway currently has ten existing affordable housing neighborhoods with others in various stages of developments. Our communities are designed to be close to public transportation, shopping, and other services. Visit our map for more information on exact locations.

Who is eligible to live in affordable housing?
People earning a low- to moderate-income – up to 120% of the area’s median income (AMI) – can qualify to live in affordable housing communities. Anyone who has a qualified income, meets minimum credit qualifications, passes the background check and meets other eligibility criteria can qualify to live in affordable housing. You can learn more by visiting our How to Apply page.

Who are Poway’s affordable housing residents?
Our residents are seniors and working families, many of whom work in the service sector as support staff, fast food workers, retail and sales clerks, childcare providers, landscapers and maintenance workers. A large number work in the health industry as medical assistants, nurses and dental hygienists. Other residents are employed by the construction or education fields, or are students themselves.

You can learn more by visiting the Our Residents webpage.

Who pays for affordable housing?
Affordable housing is typically financed by non-profit housing developers through funding from private banks, Federal Tax Credits and gap loans from the Redevelopment Agency’s low- and moderate-income housing fund. The Redevelopment Agency itself sets aside 20% of the taxes they receive each year specifically for use in developing and constructing affordable housing communities.

How does affordable housing affect crime in Poway?
With one of the lowest overall rates of crime in the County, Poway is among the region’s safest places to live, and the neighborhoods with affordable housing communities reflect these same patterns.

How does affordable housing affect schools in Poway?
School quality in affordable housing neighborhoods remains high. The children who live in Poway’s affordable housing communities attend either Valley Elementary School or Midland Elementary School. A recent study revealed that between 2005 and 2008 both of these schools experienced higher rates of improvement in their Academic Performance Index (API) scores as compared to district-wide trends. This demonstrates that affordable housing does not lower the quality of schools, and in fact the stability and longevity provided by these communities are two of the primary factors that enhance student’s success at school.

How does affordable housing affect home values in Poway?
Poway property values are not impacted by affordable housing. In fact, a recent study determined that some neighborhoods near Poway’s affordable housing communities retained their values better than the City of Poway as a whole between 2006 and 2009.

How does affordable housing affect water consumption in Poway?
Poway’s affordable housing communities were designed to incorporate numerous water saving features. As a result, they represent significantly lower than average water use and are a model for conservation.

How does affordable housing affect the appearance of Poway’s neighborhoods?
Affordable housing communities in Poway adhere to the highest design and construction standards possible. Innovative design, planning and finance have won these communities national recognition and numerous awards.

How does affordable housing affect parking in Poway?
In addition to providing sufficient on-site parking to accommodate residents and visitors, each of Poway’s affordable housing communities is located close to public transportation, reducing the need for multiple cars per unit. Our residents tend to have fewer vehicles than other Poway families and many are employed locally.

Does Poway’s affordable housing give a preference to Poway residents?
No. The state’s fair housing laws require affordable housing be available to everyone meeting the criteria. Court cases have interpreted fair housing laws to prohibit residency restrictions in all housing opportunities.

Why are most affordable housing units in Poway apartments or condos?
The quick answer is they’re the most cost-efficient homes we can build. The longer answer involves a need to be competitive for federal tax credits (a major financing mechanism for affordable housing). This means subsidized housing must be located close to essential services, shops and transportation, and in Poway, these areas are predominantly zoned for multi-family development.

Why don’t we put more affordable housing in North Poway?
We currently have two communities in North Poway and are working to develop more in this area. However, our challenge is to locate sites that have the required zoning and that are near community services, transportation and commercial amenities, as required by the state. Much of Poway’s vacant land is subject to an ordinance requiring a vote of the people to approve changes to the zoning, which limits our affordable housing options.