Policy Background

The City of Encinitas 2021-2029 6th Cycle Housing Element was adopted in April 2021. The Housing Element represents the City's primary tool for promoting the development and maintenance of safe and affordable housing for all within the Encinitas community.

Housing Element Implementation Program 3H directs the City to examine and mitigate barriers to racial and ethnic equity in housing. The text of the program is detailed below:

The Regional Analysis of Impediments has identified barriers to access to housing throughout San Diego County. To better understand the barriers specific to the City of Encinitas and how they may differ from the region, the City will conduct a study to identify any potential discriminatory land use and housing-related policies, inequitable community development practices, potential racial or ethnic biases in mortgage lending and rental housing, and other policies and practices that may create or contribute to barriers in access to housing opportunity in Encinitas and which may explain why Encinitas' ethnic composition is dissimilar to that of the San Diego region. The City will conduct this study in collaboration with local communities of color, service groups and agencies, and regional, state and federal partners and lenders.

Based upon the results of this study, and if barriers are identified, the City will take specific actions to address and mitigate these barriers that may include, but are not limited to:

• Revisions to Zoning Code and permit requirements,
• General Plan policy and program updates,
• Advocating for changes in lender and broker practices and processes,
• New services, programs and support offered to underrepresented groups,
• New or expanded outreach and engagement programs and policies, and
• Equitable services to all residents.

The Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan for the City of Encinitas was adopted to provide meaningful access to its programs and activities to individuals with LEP in accordance with federal guidelines. Encinitas Housing Division (EHD) staff currently takes steps to provide the opportunity for meaningful access to LEP persons. If language assistance is needed to provide meaningful access, the EHD will make efforts to provide free language assistance including translation of materials and access to translation services. To reduce any barriers due to English proficiency, the existing LEP will be expanded to all housing related activities.

In addition, the City of Encinitas actively recruits a diverse and multilingual staff and compensates employees designated by the City to regularly perform duties which require the skilled use of a language other than English. The City also has a phone number dedicated to reach the multilingual staff.

Project Status

The City contracted with Opportunity Consulting to conduct a review of barriers to racial and ethnic equity in the Encinitas housing market. Opportunity Consulting utilized an Outcome-Led Equity Framework to characterize inequality in Encinitas using city and census data, identify the mechanisms behind potential drivers of this inequality, and examine the linkages between the drivers of inequality and existing City policies and practices. 

In Phase I of the study,  the consultant produced findings detailing how existing policies and practices in land use, community development, lending, and renting may contribute to housing inequity. These findings were developed using data from reliable sources, detailed interviews with key stakeholders, focused workgroups representing a wide swath of community members invested in the equity discussion, and a virtual community workshop. The findings informed a set of recommendations designed to mitigate barriers to equity in housing.

In Phase II of the study, the recommendations will be prioritized by local stakeholders and decisionmakers. Phase II will be designed to keep those who participated during Phase I updated on the status of the project and engaged in subsequent work. A survey was distributed to stakeholders to gather their input on the recommendations to evaluate their feasibility in the context of local market conditions and existing resources.

The study was presented to City Council on January 17, 2024. Council directed staff to provide further analysis on eight of the ten recommendations. Staff will return to Council with the additional analysis requested at a later date.