# data[].attributes.body
Bowen 2024

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Construction crews are beginning to pour the foundation on an affordable housing project in Logan Heights - the first project to emerge from San Diego's budding "Yes in God's Backyard" (YIGBY) movement.

Bethel One will offer 25 one-bedroom apartments set aside for low-income seniors and veterans, with one additional unit reserved for an on-site property manager. It's being built by Bethel AME, a 136-year-old Black church.

Rev. Harvey Vaughn III, the church's senior pastor, said he connected with YIGBY about five years ago. The group, which was formed under the nonprofit Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties, was seeking faith communities interested in offering up their land to build affordable housing.

Bethel AME happened to own a roughly 7,000-square-foot lot on Imperial Avenue that was occupied by a small and aging duplex. Vaughn said the church's collaboration with YIGBY was a match made in heaven.

"I think we should be applying the Gospel, which is the good news of Jesus Christ, to the situation," Vaughn said of San Diego's affordable housing crisis. "When I was hungry, did you feed me? When I was naked, did you cloth me? When I was homeless, did you house me? I really believe that churches have a tremendous responsibility to not just our congregation, but to the community in which our churches are located."

Local and state lawmakers have shown a growing interest in using land that belongs to faith communities to build affordable housing. A report published in May 2020 from UC Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation found faith communities in San Diego County have an estimated 4,675 acres of potentially developable land.

San Diego adopted reforms in 2019 that streamlined permitting for affordable housing projects on church parking lots. The reforms also allow churches and nonprofits in the city's wealthiest neighborhoods to build affordable housing on their land, even when the underlying zoning doesn't allow it.

The state legislature adopted a similar law last year called SB 4, which allows religious communities and nonprofit colleges to build affordable housing on their land regardless of the local zoning.

Bethel One faced several delays during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its original plan to use prefabricated units fell apart when the cost of those units went up. The project also had to raise roughly $1 million in donations.

"This is not a quick process," Vaughn said. "To anyone who is interested in developing, you're going to need some patience."

Most affordable housing is built with government subsidies in the form of tax credits. But Evan Gerber, the project's consultant, said Bethel One is funded entirely by private donations and loans.

"Government tax credits and public programs are a great tool to build affordable housing," Gerber said. "The challenge with it is you really have to build a lot of units to really make it make sense. There's also a lot of soft costs and additional fees that go into using public subsidy."

Avoiding those additional costs associated with public subsidies, and keeping the project relatively small at three stories, allowed Bethel One to keep its cost per unit around $260,000. Publicly funded affordable housing projects in San Diego can cost $750,000 per unit or more.

Vaughn hopes that once Bethel One is completed by the end of the year, more San Diego philanthropists will be inspired to partner with faith communities to build privately funded affordable housing.

"I think that once the individuals that have committed financially see how this comes up ... they will be very excited to invest in another development similar to this, and perhaps larger," Vaughn said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
San Diego's first affordable housing project on church land under construction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bethel One will provide 26 units for low-income seniors and veterans. It's being funded without public subsidies.

# data[].attributes.body
A church in Logan Heights partnered with an affordable housing group, YIGBY, to establish a housing project called Bethel One for low-income seniors and veterans on property owned by the church (Bowen 2024). This project was made possible by reforms made by the city of San Diego which "streamlined permitting for affordable housing projects on church parking lots" (Bowen 2024). Together, YIGBY and the church, Bethel AME, work together to manage the project and ensure that it's on track for completion. The project demonstrates how housing policy changes combined with local group efforts can lead to the fruition of more affordable housing.

# data[].attributes.body
In 2019, San Diego made policy changes in favor of affordable housing on church and non-profit properties that also protect future projects from being affected by zoning (Bowen 2024). This sets the city on a direction towards positive affordable housing projects that are partnered with local faith communities.

# data[].attributes.body
Several religious communities have been a part of the "Yes in God's Backyard" (YIGBY) movement to advocate for housing projects on their land. The church partnered with this movement and is constructing Bethel One on their property. In order to limit the size of the project and extra fees from public subsidies, Bethel One "is funded entirely by private donations and loans" (Bowen 2024).

# data[].attributes.body
The stakeholders previously needed to sort out zoning and policy restraints, but the city's reforms in 2019 allowed this project to be set in motion. Since UC Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation located "4,675 acres of potentially developable land" in San Diego County, the next step is to mobilize more faith communities and networks to jumpstart more affordable housing projects (Bowen 2025).

# data[].attributes.body
A positive aspect of this movement is that affordable housing for low-income groups will be more available if YIGBY succeeds in utilizing these developable lands for this purpose. A negative aspect, however, is the cost of development. Gathering funds from private institutions and donors or complying with supplemental fees and requirements by using public subsidies make this process difficult and time-consuming.

# data[].attributes.body
The project of Bethel One is currently ongoing, and construction has been successfully moving forward. The reverend of the church hosting the project's construction expects to see it completed by the end of the year (Bowen 2024).

# data[].attributes.body
The story of Bethel One reveals how policy advocacy and organizational efforts play a role in the creation of more affordable housing as it specifically pertains to faith communities. YIGBY holds a significant position for recognizing the utility of willing faith communities with developable land and collaborating to attain a tangible reality for affordable housing. I think this story was inspiring, but a more in-depth look behind the scenes to understand how land-use planning, management, and regulations are involved in this project. As a student and resident of San Diego, this story indicates how the city might be changing, and provides a glimpse into a possible future of more affordable housing.

# data[].attributes.body
Bowen, A. (2024, January 12). San Diego’s first affordable housing project on church land under construction. KPBS Public Media. https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2024/01/08/san-diegos-first-affordable-housing-project-on-church-land-under-construction

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
The reverend of the church stands at Bethel One's construction site.