Pacific Beach Town Council got a presentation in July from an organization lobbying against the implementation of SB 10, a state bill San Diego is considering opting into seeking to increase housing in transit-oriented areas.

A transit-oriented area is defined as being within one mile of an existing bus or trolley line, or within one mile of a proposed bus or trolley line.

Meanwhile, the City is defending considering implementing SB 10, contending San Diego is facing a severe home shortage, and that there are limited home options and a growing demand for more attainable home opportunities.

“It’s actually not the intent of what we do, but the actual details of what we do, and often the details can contradict outright what the purpose of something is,” Geoff Hueter of Neighbors For a Better San Diego told PBTC July 19 about SB 10. “And when that happens, we need to just say no. Go back to the drawing board and come up with another solution.”

Noting SB 10 was co-sponsored by former State Sen. Toni Atkins, Hueter pointed out the legislation, enacted in 2021, “allows you, without any kind of environmental review, to put up to 10 units on a single family-zoned lot. And, you can also throw in some ADUs (accessory dwelling units) and not count them towards the 10.”

Speaking for the City, Tara Lewis, supervising spokesperson in the Communications Department, noted implementation of SB 10 is “intended to allow for the development of town homes, row homes, small-scale multiple-home buildings, and other home types. These buildings are ‘middle’ in form and scale, and their price points can be more attainable for ‘middle-income’ households, including both rental and entry-level home ownership opportunities. Regulations will include requirements for two- and three-bedroom homes for families and affordability requirements for very low-, low-, and moderate-income households.”

Lewis notes that, since 80% of the City is zoned for single-family homes, “missing middle homes are not allowed in many areas. This will provide more home opportunities for all San Diegans, allow for a greater variety of home types and create more homes in communities that people want to call their home. Cities can (also) decide if and how they would like to implement SB 10.”

Lewis added these “middle” homes are proposed to be allowed near the trolley and high-frequency bus routes that can be reached by walking, rolling, or biking.

“On properties that allow single homes, one missing middle home per 1,000 square feet of space would be allowed,” she said. “This means a 4,000-square-foot property would be allowed to build four homes, a 5,000-square-foot property would be allowed to build five homes, and so forth. On properties that allow multiple homes, up to 10 missing middle homes would be allowed.”

“However, due to setbacks, height, and other limitations,” continued Lewis, “Not all properties will be able to build the maximum allowed homes on the lot. No more than 10 missing middle homes would be allowed on a property.”

District 1 Councilmember Joe LaCava representing Pacific Beach noted SB 10 is being considered by the City as part of its housing package. He said it is being heard first by the City Planning Commission before going on to a full City Council review. “It gives a City authority to allow from two to 10 units by right on a single-family lot. So it gives that flexibility,” said LaCava.

LaCava added there was some “pushback” from the Planning Commission on SB 10. “The reason for that was there is also a state law that says the City can no longer down-zone residential land, and the fear of the planning commissioners was that if the City were to go for a maximum of 10 (units), then at a later date we cannot walk it back because of this law. So, we (City) should proceed with caution.”

LaCava added the planning commission was scheduled to rehear SB 10 on Aug. 3 before the bill goes to the City Land Use and Housing Committee, and then on to the City Council.

Hueter of Neighbors For a Better San Diego concluded that: “They (state) put into the law that, once a city decides to do this, they can’t undo it. You can only go forward.”

There are other uncertainties with SB 10 as well, argued Hueter. “They said 10 units, but they didn’t say how big they could be. San Diego could say that these could be 30 feet high, and could fill out your entire lot. That’s enough to put a 15,000-square-foot building on a 5,000-square-foot lot, which is a typical San Diego lot.

“So the City would be saying you could build buildings that are five times bigger than the maximum house that you could put on that lot when this was supposed to be one of these ‘gentle” density kind of things allowing housing types that were compatible with the existing scale, style, setbacks, and heights of other buildings in the neighborhood.”