San Diego City Council passes changes to dwelling unit policy

(The Cener Square) – The San Diego City Council voted 5-4 to change the city’s Accessory Dwelling Unit policy and bonus ADU program, after hours of public comments.

At Monday night’s meeting, the council passed regulation amendments that include restricting the development of ADUs. One of the more significant changes the council agreed on was capping the number of ADUs built on single-family lots at six. The ruling came as a loss for developers but a win for many residents.

The production of ADUs and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units came out of California’s effort to address the state’s housing shortage and homeless population. As the shortage worsened and its homeless population grew, the state encouraged more housing development. In 2017, the city of San Diego began to take steps to align ADU and JADU regulations with evolving state laws, the City Planning Department said during the council meeting Monday.

The Planning Department also said ADUs and JADUs were designed with the intention of bringing affordability, accessibility and neighborhood compatibility. Residents at the city council meeting, however, claim the units are doing the opposite.

Many residents acknowledged the housing crisis in San Diego, but said building more ADUs is not the solution.

“The Bonus ADU program may have started off with good intentions of needing to build more housing, but it ended up benefiting the few developers who may look at it as a money grab, not a community partnership,” Shane Harris, the founder of The People’s Association of Justice Advocates, said at the meeting.

Resident Judy Mitchell voiced similar thoughts as Harris, saying housing is needed in San Diego but noting ADUs are bringing in a lot of issues to communities.

“We all know we need housing, but apartment buildings in our backyards, not being able to get out of our driveways, can’t put our trash cans down, it has gotten completely out of control, Mitchell said.

Harris, other residents and Councilmember Mari von Wilpert suggested capping the development of ADU’s to four per property, but were shut down because of state requirement concerns. There were other suggestions the council did not entertain, out of fear that it might also put the city out of compliance with the state’s housing requirements.

Other changes passed are limiting a unit to two stories, limiting a unit to a maximum size of 12,000 square feet, not allowing the units to be sold, only rented and stricter parking requirements.

In a statement to The Center Square Tuesday, the office of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria thanked council members for their feedback and amendments and said city staff will continue to work to ensure San Diego follows state housing laws.

“We’ll continue to engage with the state’s Housing and Community Development agency to ensure San Diego remains in compliance with California’s housing requirements and maintains our Prohousing Designation,” Rachel Laing, spokesperson for San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, told The Center Square.