What is the City's Preservation and Progress Program—and what does it mean for San Diego?
In 2023, the City of San Diego launched a sweeping effort called Preservation and Progress, a project promoted as a way to “streamline processes for new homes and other uses while protecting places of historic, architectural and cultural importance and encouraging their adaptive reuse.” But behind this language lies a set of proposals that would weaken some of the most fundamental tools we have to preserve San Diego’s historic neighborhoods, homes, and landmarks.
A Misguided Premise
The project is rooted in a false conflict—that preservation and housing are at odds. In fact, San Diego’s historic neighborhoods are already home to thousands of modestly scaled, walkable, and relatively affordable homes. These neighborhoods are not the problem—they are part of the solution. (See PlaceEconomics report)
Historic preservation has never been a major barrier to development. Preservation-related reviews apply to a small fraction of projects, and the city’s own data confirms that these reviews cause minimal delay. Yet this program would roll back protections under the guise of speeding up construction.
What the City is Proposing
While some aspects of the proposal offer promise—such as stronger enforcement tools for demolition by neglect—many of the central reforms would significantly erode preservation in San Diego.
Where Things Stand
Despite requests from preservationists, community groups, and neighborhood leaders, the City has not met with the community in any meaningful way and is nonresponsive to letters and requests for information, and they did not conduct an economic analysis of how these changes would impact historic neighborhoods, housing affordability, or cultural heritage. SOHO and partners including Mission Hills Heritage, Geoffery Hueter, Laura Henson, and over 95 individual donors funded an independent study by PlaceEconomics, a national expert on the benefits of preservation.(See PlaceEconomics report)
We had asked the City to hold off on finalizing reforms until the study was complete—but they did not, choosing to steamroll ahead instead.
Our Position
SOHO believes that responsible planning can—and must—include strong preservation protections. We support reforms that streamline processes without weakening safeguards for San Diego’s historic assets. We also welcome the opportunity to improve clarity, offer better education about preservation, and expand tools like adaptive reuse. But any changes must be developed in collaboration with preservation professionals and neighborhood leaders, and not driven by developers and the Building Industry Association.
How You Can Help
We urge the public to speak up. Let your elected officials know that San Diegans value their history—and that progress should not mean sacrificing our city’s unique character and legacy.
We need your voice to push back against this attack on preservation.