A lawsuit filed against the City of San Diego by the San Diego County Building Industry Association (BIA) claims the city must repay millions of dollars in affordable housing fees it collected. The BIA board wants the money repaid to homeowners and it could seek the money on behalf of the homeowners, individual builders could request a refund, or a class action lawsuit could be filed.
The suit requests that the affordable housing law be formally thrown out. Housing laws adopted by other cities require developers to set aside 10 percent of the homes in their projects for low-and moderate-income households. Builders also have the option of paying a fee instead. The ordinance was deemed unconstitutional because it lacks a key waiver provision allowing developers to make the case that the law should not apply to them because their projects do not contribute to the city's affordable housing problem.
