Pacific Beach Planning Group in February took on the City’s density bonus program for accessory dwelling units.

An ADU is a secondary dwelling unit attached or detached from a primary residence. ADUs are required by state law to have a kitchen and bathroom and to have access to the same parcel as a primary dwelling unit.

The City’s bonus program allows more ADUs than zoning ordinarily permits on a parcel if some units are set aside for affordable housing. Added by the City Council in 2020 to address San Diego’s ongoing affordable housing crisis, the City’s bonus ADU program is intended to give developers an incentive to build bonus rentals creating more low- and moderate-income housing.

However, the ADU bonus program is coming under increasing scrutiny – and fire – for alleged loopholes allowing developers to exploit the density bonus program. Some claim developers are deliberately buying existing single-family homes and duplexes, to add large numbers of ADUs to them, intending to operate them as rental housing for greater profits.

One such bonus ADU project has been proposed at 4240 Morrell St. in a Crown Point neighborhood. That project calls for constructing two new three-story, multi-family dwelling units consisting of a total of 30 dwelling units, with 11 affordable units and nine covered auto parking spaces on a 0.28-acre parcel.

The proposed Morrell project has been red-flagged by some community members in PB as residents and community planners are becoming increasingly alarmed by higher density creeping into their neighborhoods.

“The planning group has requested a ‘Notice of Decision’ about the Morrell Street ADU project as it is a ministerial project not required to come to the planning group,” said PBPG chair Marcella Bothwell. “Thirty units with only nine parking spaces is not compatible with the neighborhood. We will be reviewing the (City) Developmental Services Department’s review to look for grounds to appeal to the (City) Planning Commission.”

However, Bothwell noted current City Council ADU policy “is allowing much more density, traffic, parking, and infrastructure problems to occur, even than the state ADU policy.” She added, “We need to fight this (Morrell Street project), and find a reason to appeal it to the City Planning Commission.”

At the Feb. 12 PBPG meeting, certified planner and retired planning director John Terrell gave a presentation on the City’s ADU bonus program. He argued that an increasing number of ADU projects are being brought forward to take advantage of the City’s existing ADU bonus program.

“Developers are pushing the envelope,” Terrell concluded. He added, “The ADU density bonus program is unique to San Diego, allowing one bonus ADU for each affordable ADU. Most of those bonus ADU projects have been inland. But now we’re beginning to see those projects here in Pacific Beach.”

Recently, the City Council asked the City Planning Department to bring forward a repeal of the City’s ADU density bonus program to the City Council. Bothwell said PBPG has asked District 1 Councilmember and Council President Joe LaCava, who represents Pacific Beach, to docket that item.

ADUs

An accessory dwelling unit (ADU): is a secondary dwelling unit that can be attached to or detached from a primary residence. ADUs can be cost-effective, increase financial flexibility, and expand the supply of affordable housing. California requires ADUs to have a kitchen, bathroom, and access, allowing them to be located on the same parcel as a primary dwelling unit.

• San Diego’s ADU density bonus program: allows property owners to build more ADUs than zoning typically permits if they set aside some of them for affordable housing. The program has been praised by the state as a way to increase housing supply without taxpayer funding. The San Diego City Council however has directed staff to review the program due to concerns about possible disruptions to community character by ADU proliferation.

  Bonus ADA rules: Property owners can build one additional ADU for each ADU that is deed-restricted for affordable housing; affordable ADUs must be comparable to the market-rate ADUs in size, amenities, and bedroom mix; affordable ADUs must be deed-restricted for 15 years for moderate-income households or 10 years for low-income households.

  A maximum of eight detached ADUs are now permitted on premises with an existing multiple-dwelling unit structure. However, the number of detached ADUs shall not exceed the number of existing units on the lot.

  The 2025 regulations expand opportunities for ADU development in San Diego. Multifamily properties can now have up to eight detached ADUs. Unpermitted ADUs built before 2020 also have a streamlined path to legalization, and coastal properties benefit from faster permitting processes.