In 2004, a developer had an idea to create a downtown where one had never existed before 鈥� in the suburbs of San Marcos.
The area, adjacent to California State University San Marcos, now spans 200 acres of urban density with a walkable village charm. Thousands of homes, dozens of acres of parks and open spaces, restaurants, shops and offices have been springing up in the new downtown for the past several years.
On any given afternoon, students spill out of The Quad, professionals work from open-air co-working spaces and locals gather for the weekly farmers market.
It鈥檚 called North City, and though construction is still ongoing, the developer and San Marcos officials hope it won鈥檛 just serve as a downtown for San Marcos, but all of North County.
Beyond providing a vibrant central hub, North City has served another critical purpose: helping the city make significant strides toward its housing targets.
San Marcos is like no other city in San Diego County. It鈥檚 on track to meet its state-mandated housing targets in three out of four categories.
State housing laws require cities to make way for a certain amount of housing for people in four different income categories: very low, low, moderate and above moderate. Cities in San Diego County have until 2029 to permit enough homes to meet their goals. San Marcos is on track in every single category but 鈥渧ery low.鈥�
In the moderate category, San Marcos has already exceeded its goal, in part because of all the development in North City. It has permitted 871 moderately-priced homes that are non-deed-restricted 鈥� meaning they aren鈥檛 subsidized. Their 鈥渕oderate鈥� price was set by the San Marcos housing market.
How They Did It
San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones has a two-pronged strategy: good planning and negotiating with developers toward projects that fit the city鈥檚 needs.
Jones has been the mayor of San Marcos since 2018 and was on the City Council for several years before that. She attributed the city鈥檚 overall housing successes to good city planning.
She used North City as an example. San Marcos didn鈥檛 have a downtown area until city leaders created a plan for one. They envisioned a central place for different types of homes, retail spaces, offices, restaurants, recreational areas and more.
When completed, the $2 billion development will create a total of 3,400 new homes. About 15 percent of those homes, roughly 400 units, will be deed restricted as affordable housing.
City leaders purposefully planned for denser housing in more densely populated and central areas, Jones said.
鈥淚n the more downtown urban areas, it makes sense to have a little more density,鈥� Jones said.
Jones 鈥� who is a Republican and currently running for the County Board of Supervisors 鈥� said she prefers to keep high-density projects out of smaller single-family neighborhoods as much as possible.
But because state housing mandates require cities to approve all proposed affordable housing projects that fit a city鈥檚 general plan, city leaders can鈥檛 ensure that all high-density projects will be concentrated in North City.
It鈥檚 the 鈥渟hoehorning,鈥� as Jones called it, of large projects in single-family-home neighborhoods that causes dissatisfaction and backlash from residents across North County. But Jones seems to have found a way to curb that dissatisfaction in San Marcos as much as possible.
She often bargains with developers on the details of a project to ensure it is mutually beneficial to both the developer and the city鈥檚 residents.
鈥淢y job is to figure out how to get the best development possible. I鈥檝e had instances where they鈥檝e worked with me and sat down and we鈥檝e tried to figure out how they could build something that can fit within the parameters of what鈥檚 already approved today,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淚 also don鈥檛 want my whole entire Housing Element to be opened up because I try to say no to a project and get sued over it; that isn鈥檛 beneficial to my community either.鈥�
Jones thinks more elected officials should take this hands-on approach.
鈥淚 think most people are reasonable,鈥� she added. 鈥淚f you break it down and you talk to them and you take that time, you鈥檇 be surprised. Most elected officials may not want to take the time because it鈥檚 a big job鈥� We need to do more of that.鈥�
Entering 鈥楶hase Two鈥�
Erik Bruvold, CEO of the San Diego North Economic Development Council, said that Jones鈥� strategy of working with developers instead of trying to circumvent state housing mandates or being hyper critical of them is something elected officials are doing more often.
He called this era 鈥減hase two.鈥�
鈥淚n phase one, I think you saw a lot of leaders be very critical about state mandates and be very frustrated with them, and so they approved any project that came across the desk kind of holding their nose,鈥� Bruvold said. 鈥淚 think now, we鈥檙e in an interesting second phase where you see throughout North County, elected leaders who may not be all that happy with the state policies, but are now proactively working with folks within the confines of the state law to try and get projects that they feel meet community needs.鈥�
He used Oceanside city leaders as another example. The City Council recently greenlit a 326-unit mixed-use project to replace the Regal movie theater downtown. The developer originally proposed a higher density of housing with less public space, but the approved revised plan will have fewer residential units in exchange for more shops and restaurants and a significantly larger public plaza.
Besides San Marcos鈥� commitment to outreach, Bruvold believes the city had the advantage of having much more open space than most other cities.
鈥淚 think it reflects the fact that it is just easier, particularly in California, to develop where there hasn鈥檛 previously been any development,鈥� he said.
Chula Vista also has more open space than most other cities and has .
Now, in North County, the opportunities cities have to meet their state housing goals are primarily going to be with infill projects, meaning in areas that already have high development, Bruvold said.
Bringing Back Redevelopment Agencies
But as infill developments increase, supporting infrastructure must increase, as well, Bruvold said. That鈥檚 why he鈥檚 an advocate of bringing back , a tool he says is critical to funding infrastructure.
Redevelopment agencies were local government programs created by the state to help fix rundown neighborhoods. Over time, they became a key tool in California鈥檚 affordable housing efforts. Cities could use money from property taxes to subsidize affordable housing and build infrastructure to sustain that housing, like roads, sewage systems, parks and other public amenities.
In 2012, then-Gov. Jerry Brown shut down redevelopment agencies statewide mainly to redirect their funds toward closing the state鈥檚 massive budget deficit. But some cities and agencies also misused funds and took advantage of the system.
Before its dissolution, redevelopment agencies, like the one in San Marcos, helped cities create significant affordable housing stock with infrastructure that could support that housing.
鈥淲hile the particulars of what is missing do vary city to city, in so many cases, what we have is infrastructure that was built to accommodate development in the fifties and sixties,鈥� Bruvold said. 鈥淎nd to be able to do infill mixed-use or infill residential development, we just need bigger infrastructure, and redevelopment would鈥檝e been a critical tool to do that.鈥�
Both Jones and Bruvold hope that one day redevelopment agencies can come back in some form. Voice of San Diego that some lawmakers at the state level believe redevelopment agencies are a key component in creating more affordable housing, building infrastructure and helping underserved areas.鈥疉nd some of those lawmakers are still actively trying to bring them back in some way.
Finally, Bruvold believes the state鈥檚 housing mandates aimed at encouraging housing production have been essential to creating more housing in San Marcos and throughout North County.
That鈥檚 where Jones disagrees.
鈥淭hese mandates coming from Sacramento, they don鈥檛 know the specific needs of our community and what our community wants,鈥� Jones said.
Instead, Jones said, housing decisions should be left up to city and county leaders.
鈥淚 think local control, and yes, there are definitely going to be some examples where cities are not doing the right thing, but for the most part, cities do want to do the right thing,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淓lected officials do want to try to provide well-rounded housing for their residents who want to stay here and have jobs here.鈥�
___
This story was originally published by and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
