DEL MAR, Calif. (KGTV) -- San Diego County Board of Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer drafted the resolution that the board unanimously supported. The County has no direct role in the negotiations, but Lawson-Remer said the board is ready to help in any way possible.
More than two million people visit the Del Mar Fairgrounds every year for the San Diego County Fair, horse races, concerts and more, but now the idea of building permanent homes on the state-owned property seems to be getting more popular.
Tuesday, the County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to publicly support a recent agreement between Del Mar and the 22nd Agricultural District to build at least 61 affordable housing units on the fairgrounds property. Where is unclear. The city and the fair board will spend two years looking at options.
During public comment, several people spoke in favor of the plan.
"I wholeheartedly support to put to better use some of the underutilized land at the Del Mar Fairgrounds," said Julie Porter.
"If we have the grounds to build the housing, build the housing because we have a housing crisis, not a homeless crisis," said another woman.
Natalie Raschke is an advocate with a non-profit called Lived Experience. She and her husband have four kids. Raschke said affordable housing shouldn't be looked at negatively.
"My kids were born and raised here in San Diego. It was doable, it seemed awhile ago," Raschke said. "I have a son that is seventeen. People make comments they should just move somewhere else that takes money too. This is their home. They shouldn't have to worry about affording or living with their parents."
If an agreement is reached, Del Mar will lease one or two acres of the 300-plus-acre site from the state. The state requires the city to build roughly 113 lower-income homes by the end of this decade.
Lawson-Remer says Del Mar's approach mirrors what the County is already doing.
"It really lifts up a lot of the approach that we've taken at the county so far of trying to develop public lands that could be utilized to build affordable housing," Lawson-Remer said.
