Written Communications – Item 4.1
Gaspar – Received 5/11/2026
From: Stephan Gaspar
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2026 12:26 PM
To: CityClerk <[email protected]>
Cc: John McCann <[email protected]>; Council District 1 <[email protected]>; Jose Preciado <[email protected]>; Michael Inzunza <[email protected]>; Cesar Fernandez
<[email protected]>; Josh Santa
Subject: Public Comment: Draft 2026-2031 Strategic Plan (Report 26-0175), May 12, 2026 Council Meeting
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Dear City Clerk,
We respectfully request the attached letter be entered into the public record for the May 12, 2026 City Council meeting, Report 26-0175 (Draft 2026-2031 Strategic Plan).
The letter, co-signed by KIRE Builders' President & CEO Josh Santa, recommends that Council ask staff to study a by-right approval ordinance for housing communities that meet objective design standards, building on the work already adopted in CVMC 19.58.460. I plan to speak briefly during public comment on the same item.
Mayor McCann and Councilmembers are copied here. We would welcome the chance to discuss further with any of you or your staff.
Thank you,
Stephan
Stephan Gaspar
Development Manager
You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important KIRE
May 11, 2026
HonorableMayor andMembersof the ChulaVista City Council City of ChulaVista
276 Fourth Avenue
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Re: Draft 2026-2031StrategicPlan (Report26-0175);. May 12, 2026City CouncilMeeting; Recommendationto StudyaBy -Right Approval Ordinancefor Housing DearHonorableMayor andMembersof the City Council:
KIRE Builders is avertically integratedmultifamily developmentfirm basedin SanDiegoCounty. We design, build, andmanagesmallto mid -sizedrentalcommunities, all privately fundedby local capital.
Acrossourmarkets, wehavecompletedthirty-nine communitiestotaling oversix hundredhomes, includingthirteencommunitiesandfour hundredunitsin the City of National City, with two more communities and one hundred fourteen units currently in planning.
We respectfullyencouragethe City Councilto directstaffto studya by -right approvalordinancefor housingcommunitiesthat complywith objectivedesignstandards, zoning, andtheGeneralPlanlanduse designation. This recommendationdirectly supportsGoal 1.2 of the Draft 2026-2031 StrategicPlan Housingaffordability andstability), Goal 1.5 (Balancedinvestmentacrossneighborhoods), andthe Plan's directionin Goal3.4to identifyregulatorybarriersandalignCity policieswith currentand emerging economic opportunities.
Peer cities are already on this path. SanDiego, La Mesa, andNational City haveadoptedby -right approvalframeworksfor housingcommunitiesthatcomplywith objectivestandards. Escondidoandthe Countyof SanDiegoareactivelystudyingsimilar ordinances. ChulaVista hasthe opportunityto put its ownversionin place, tailoredto the community's landuseplans, designpriorities, andneighborhood character.
Chula Vista has already shown leadership on housing. The City is oneof only a small numberof San Diego Countyjurisdictions to haveearnedtheHCD ProhousingDesignation, in recognitionof pro - housingpolicieslike theUrbanCoreSpecificPlanandreformsto the City'sdevelopmentservices process. Expandingthe applicability of objectivedesignstandardsto a broadersetof communitiesis the natural next stepin that work.
The foundation is already in place. ChulaVista Municipal Code19.58.460establishesa comprehensive set of objective designstandardsfor multifamily andmixed -usecommunities, covering building architecture, sitedesign, openspace, parking, walls, landscaping, lighting, andtrashenclosures. These standardswereadoptedby CouncilunderOrdinances3559 (2023) and3572 (2024). Today, those standardsapply only to communitiesthat qualify for ministerial review underCalifornia Government KIRE BUILDERS, INC.
14271 DANIELSON STREET, POWAY, CA 92064
OFFICE: (619) 289-8210 1WEBSITE: KIREBUILDERSINC.COM
KIRK
Code 65913.4 (SB 35), which requires a 20% low- income set -aside calculated against all units. That thresholdlimitsthestandards' practicalreach. Mostmissing -middlecommunities, includingthesmaller infill productthewestsidemostneeds,. lackthescaletoabsorbthe20% affordabilityset -asideandstill pencil. TheopportunityistoextendtheapplicabilityofCVMC19.58.460toabroadersetofqualifying communities, buildingonstandardstheCity hasalreadyvettedandadopted.
The caseis strongest west of the 805. Eastof the 805, ChulaVista hasgrown through largemaster - plannedcommunitieslikeOtayRanchandEastLake. Thesecommunitieshavethescaletoabsorbthecost andtimelineof discretionaryreview, andtheyhaveproducedsignificanthousingasaresult. Thewest sidehasnothadthesameopportunity. TheNorthwestandSouthwestPlanningAreas, includingthe UrbanCore, Broadway, andThirdAvenuecorridors, areinfill in nature. Parcelsaresmaller, communities are smaller, and those communities cannot shoulder the financial risk of an open-endeddiscretionary process
CoStardataillustratesthedisparityclearly. Lookingonlyatcommunitiesbuiltwithinthelasttenyears, since2016, thewestsidehasproduced27housingcommunitiestotaling1,480units, andtheeastsidehas produced26communitiestotaling4,901units. Bothsideshavebuiltnearlythesamenumberof communities, buttheaverageeast -sidecommunityis morethanthreetimesthesizeof itswest -side counterpart (188units versus 55 units). The eastsidehasdelivered more than three times the housing from the same community count.
The samedatasetshowswhere attainablerents areconcentrated. Among thesenewer communities, west - siderentsaverage $2,432permonth, approximately20% lower (ormorethan $600permonthless) than the east -sideaverageof $3,035. Even in modernconstruction, the west sideis producingthe attainable middle -incomehousingtheCity needs. Thesmallerscaleofwest -sidecommunitiesiswhatmakesthose rentspossible, andthatsamescaleiswhatcannotsurviveanopen-endeddiscretionaryreviewprocess.
By -right approval, tiedto objectivestandards, isthepolicytoolthatprotectsthisattainabilitywhile expandingthesupplyof newhousinginthecorridorswhereit ismostneeded.
Thecurrenthousingcyclemakesthismoreurgent, notless. Interestratesarehigher, capitalismore risk averse, andcommunitiesthatpenciledthreeyearsagodonotpenciltoday. If theCity wantsmiddle - incomefamiliesto remainin ChulaVista, thepoliciesthatdecidewhichcommunitiesmoveforwardmust be reconsidered. Predictable approvals, anchored to clear and objective standards, are the most cost- effectivetoolacityhastosupportattainablehousingwithoutexpandingitsGeneralFundobligations.
KIRE'sexperienceinNationalCityis instructive. Noneof ourthirteencompletedcommunities, orthe two communitiescurrentlyin planning, wouldhavepenciledunderadiscretionaryprocess. The predictablenatureofby -rightiswhatmakesthemathwork. Thesameframework, adaptedtoChula Vista'slanduseplansanddesignpriorities, canproducethesameresulthere.
KIRE BUILDERS, INC.
14271 DANIELSON STREET, POWAY, CA 92064
OFFICE: (619) 289-8210 I WEBSITE: KIREBUILDERSINC.COM
I R
Thepiecesarealigned. TheDraftStrategicPlannameshousingaffordabilityandbalancedneighborhood investmentaspriorities. CVMC 19.58.460alreadyestablishestheobjectivedesignstandards. Peercities haveshownthebroader -applicabilityapproachworks. Themarketdataconfirmswheretheneedis greatest, andthecurrentcycleconfirmsthetimingmatters. WerespectfullyencouragetheCouncilto considerextendingthisframeworkaspartof thePlan's implementation.
Wewouldwelcomethechanceto meetwith anyCouncilmemberor staffmemberinterestedin learning moreaboutourexperienceprocessingandbuildingby -rightcommunitiesin otherjurisdictions. Weare committedto being auseful resourceasChula Vista considersthis question.
ThankyouforyourcontinuedleadershiponChulaVista'shousingpolicies.
Sincerely,
Josh Santa
President & CEO
KIRE Builders, Inc.
[email protected]
Stephan Gaspar
Development Manager
KIRE Builders, Inc.
s.gaspar .kire. coup
KIRE BUILDERS, INC.
14271 DANIELSON STREET, POWAY, CA 92064
OFFICE: (619) 289-8210 1WEBSITE: KIREBUILDERSINC.COM