Developer Resources

The City of San Marcos is dedicated to investing in affordable housing to ensure safe and equitable housing opportunities for all. The city works with service providers, developers, the County of San Diego, and the State of California to increase affordable rental and for-sale housing for income-qualifying individuals and families.

Inclusionary housing ordinance

• Requires 15% of all residential units in new projects to be affordable for lower- and moderate-income households.
• Helps meet affordable housing goals outlined in the Housing Element(PDF, 13MB).

Updated In-lieu fee 

• New In-Lieu Fees were adopted on November 26, 2024(PDF, 3MB).
• Effective March 3, 2025, the new In-Lieu Fee is applicable to for-sale and rental residential developments. 
• For more information, visit sanmarcosca.gov/Fees

Implementation policy

• Ongoing projects should review the Implementation Policy(PDF, 123KB) to understand how these requirements affect them.

Resources

The following resources support non-profit and market-rate developers fulfilling affordable housing requirements:

• City of San Marcos Utility Allowance Schedule
• City of San Marcos Income and Rent Calculations(PDF, 183KB)
• Municipal Code Chapter 20.310 Inclusionary Housing
• State of California Density Bonus Law
• San Diego County Area Median Income (AMI)

Annual monitoring and project status report

• Please submit this report as required by the City of San Marcos.