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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 9h

P.S. Check out the full agenda here: www.sandiego.gov/sites/defaul...

And a presentation of the plan here:
www.sandiego.gov/sites/defaul...

www.sandiego.gov

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 9h

OR SHOW UP THU OCT 9, 9AM: Edric Doringo Hearing Room, 7650 Mission Valley Rd

Let's legalize homes where transit runs. Housing belongs near the state's 5th largest public university. 9/9

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 9h

🎯 SUBMIT COMMENT: sandiego.gov/planning-com...

Fill out:
Name/Date: 10/9
Agenda Item: 2
Comment: "I support this plan. Approve housing near transit for students, workers, teachers."

8/9

Planning Commission Public Comment Form | City of San Diego Official Website

DISCLAIMER: Please note that comments and information provided via this form are public records submitted by members of the public. Additionally, these comments are posted as submitted. The Planning C...

sandiego.gov

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 9h

Without this plan:
-Family houses carved into 6-8 student units.
-Minimal new construction.
-Rents climb.
-Workers commute farther.
-Two trolley stations sit half-empty while we waste existing infrastructure. 7/9

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 9h

Regional transit plans rapid buses with dedicated lanes on these streets.

This means students can live without cars they can't afford. Will reduce traffic and pollution—but only if housing exists nearby. 6/9

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 9h

New buildings must include public spaces—courtyards, paths, parks (5% of property)—with benches, play equipment, fitness stations.

Montezuma Road gets 22 feet of sidewalk, trees, and seating as development happens. 5/9

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 9h

The new plan allows up to 34,150 homes total (currently 8,200).

Tallest buildings—up to 240 feet—next to SDSU trolley, apartments along streets with frequent buses.

Most single-family neighborhoods unchanged (unfortunately). 4/9

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 9h

Right now: SDSU students start searching for housing a year before school starts and pay $1,200/month for bedrooms in old houses.

Meanwhile, SDSU service workers can't afford living near where they work. 3/9

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 9h

College Area has two trolley stations, buses every 15 minutes, 35,500 students, and a hospital with 7,000 employees.

Exactly where apartments should be abundant. Instead, current zoning makes most of it impossible to build. 2/9

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 9h

Thursday, San Diego Planning Commission decides whether SDSU staff, UCSD Health nurses, and students can live near two trolley stations—or if we keep forcing them to drive from East County.

Let's dive into the College Area Plan! 1/9 🧵

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 13h

Farmers can earn $1,500+ per acre leasing land for solar—stable income when crops fail. But local bans are blocking these deals, stripping property rights from landowners who want them.

Clear state rules protect both rural economies and freedom.

Energy Siting Policies: Protecting Property Rights and Accelerating Economic Development

Landowner freedom is important to rural farmers. Locals want fair siting practices, better tools, and more transparency to lease clean energy on their land. These policy solutions and best practices…

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 16h

CA locked in carbon pricing (companies pay for pollution) through 2045, generating $2B+ yearly for clean transit and air programs...trade-off: more oil drilling to ensure energy available during transition away from fossil fuels.

Newsom strikes climate deal extending California cap and trade, boosting oil production

California legislative leaders in the wee hours of Wednesday morning reached an agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsom to extend the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction program, known as cap and…

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 18h

SB 79 protects lower-income neighborhoods.

Cities can defer these areas until the next planning cycle and can reduce density there by half if needed.

The bill also bans demolishing rent-controlled units and requires renter relocation assistance.

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 20h

SB 79 preserves local control despite what NIMBYs claim

-Cities keep design standards and approval processes.
-Cities choose where density goes—they can reduce it 50% in any neighborhood and move it elsewhere.
-Cities can exempt fire zones, flood areas, and historic sites.

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 21h

US small nuclear reactors won't reach market until late 2020s while Russia and China already operate theirs.

World Bank lifted its nuclear ban, but emerging markets need grid upgrades and regulatory frameworks first—reactors won't solve energy poverty without infrastructure.

[Sept 2025 Update] Which advanced nuclear models are likely to hit emerging markets first? - Energy for Growth Hub

What we're watching

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 23h

LA permitted 17,200 homes last year.

The city needs 57,000 annually through 2029—that's 456,000 total.

UCLA analyzed LA's current CHIP housing program and found it generates 47,000 homes maximum. The shortfall: over 400,000 homes.

SB 79 addresses this by allowing MORE apartments near rail.

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 1d

If just 10% of the allowed housing actually gets built, LA would eliminate two-thirds of its housing gap. More people near transit also means more fare revenue when transit agencies need money.

Governor decides soon. 3/3

buff.ly/epSO7pd

What Would SB 79 Mean for Los Angeles?

Los Angeles's housing costs are skyrocketing. SB 79 could unlock midrise, mixed-income apartments near transit and cut the city’s housing shortage.

cayimby.org

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 1d

SB 79 fixes this by letting people build apartments near major transit stops statewide. LA already does this in some areas and it works—this just ends the rule keeping apartments illegal near transit in most of the city.

Same proven approach, more places it can happen. 2/3

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 1d

LA homes cost $931k—11 times what a typical family earns. Half of renters spend over a third of their pay on rent. The city's building so slowly that at the current rate, it'll take 46 years to build enough homes.

Yet three-quarters of LA bans apartments, even near subway and bus stations. 1/3

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 1d

Feds offer 1-2% loans to build housing near trains, but red tape is so bad only 1 project got approved. Meanwhile housing shortage worsens.

Fix the broken loan programs we have instead of inventing new bureaucracy - unlock thousands of homes.

Reforming transit-oriented development financing at the federal level to unlock housing and economic growth - Smart Growth America

About us

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 1d

Montreal Protocol is restoring Earth's ozone layer to pre-1980 levels by 2050—the only planetary boundary humans have successfully pulled back from collapse. Required binding cuts plus international funding.

Climate policy needs similar architecture.

buff.ly/nsMkQAw

Montreal Protocol - Institute For Governance & Sustainable Development

The framework, introduced in 2009 by co-author Professor Johan Rockström and colleagues, defines Planetary Boundaries as the safe operating thresholds for nine critical processes that maintain Earth…

www.igsd.org

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 1d

Conservative 'abundance' - single-family homes and age limits on AI chatbots to protect kids from forming bot relationships. The author may be onto something about tech harming social development, but mandating housing types won't fix affordability for young families.

A Conservative Vision for Abundance - American Affairs Journal

A robust understanding of human flourishing must inform our answer to that question. Human goods are more than the choice maximization championed by modern liberalism. They include family formation,…

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 1d

LA apartment construction is at its lowest level in 10 years.

Mayor Bass, Councilmember Traci Park, and other NIMBYs are blocking housing affordability for Angelenos.

www.latimes.com/california/n...

Can't find an apartment in L.A.? That's because fewer are being built

Your morning catchup: Finding an apartment in L.A. is difficult when fewer are being built, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was sentenced to more than 4 years in prison, and more big stories.

www.latimes.com

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 1d

Bipartisan bill lets religious institutions build affordable housing despite local zoning limits. Smart land use: idle church parking lots become homes. via @repscottpeters

Reps. Peters and Edwards Introduce Bill to Allow Faith-Based Institutions to Build Affordable Housing

Congressman Scott Peters

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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 2d

San Diego now pays homeowners to power the grid. Install a solar battery (get ~$6,900 rebate), then earn 10¢/kWh when you discharge it during peak hours (4-9pm).

Replaces dirty power plants with home batteries when demand spikes.

4,000 homes joining.

inewsource.org/2025/10/03/s...

Solar energy program offers rebates to San Diego customers

San Diego Community Power Board launched a solar battery program to save customers money and promote renewable energy.

inewsource.org

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