Backlog Of Affordable Military Housing

The U.S. Navy has calculated an affordable housing backlog of 2,300 units for military families in the San Diego area. By 2007, they expect this number to rise to about 3000 units. "Those conditions have forced too many military families...to use up to 70 percent or more of their paychecks for housing costs....The Navy recently drew up a draft environmental impact statement for a 1,600-unit public/private venture housing development near the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station." Residents of Tierrasanta, a nearby neighborhood that houses the largest public housing development in the San Diego area, have raised "serious concerns about the impact the Navy housing development would have on local traffic, schools and the environment." According to SANDAG, "the region is simply not building enough units to meet its demand, whether that demand is military or civilian....the military's rapid and consistent turnover leaves many of its families in a tough situation....Housing affordability affects the military's economic contribution tremendously....If affordability factors force a family to live in a community outside of the county, or even leave a spouse or children in another region of the country altogether, San Diego loses their spending dollars."

Thanks to Connie Chung