San Diego Planning Commission on May 1 unanimously recommended approving 24 proposed changes to the City’s controversial existing Accessory Dwelling Unit Bonus Program.

The City’s ADU Bonus Program currently allows single-family homeowners to build an unspecified number of additional ADU units if some are reserved for low- to moderate-income residents. Current state laws also allow ADUs to be built as independent living spaces with their kitchens and bathrooms.

Proposed changes to the ADU Bonus Program include: higher penalties for violations; restricting ADUs to two stories; requirements for off-street parking for ADUs located more than one-half mile from major transit stops; additional fire safety measures; and limiting the number of ADUs allowed per lot to a yet-to-be-determined number.

Also being considered in amending the City’s ADU Bonus Program is removing eligibility for them in certain single-family zones, particularly those with larger lot sizes. Also proposed is making ADUs ineligible in high- or very high wildfire risk areas with limited evacuation routes, such as cul-de-sacs.  State law also currently precludes the City from requiring parking at ADUs in Transit Priority Areas near bus or trolley lines.

Proposed ADU amendments will next advance to the City Council’s Land Use & Housing Committee on May 15. If the LU&H Committee agrees on the ADU changes as proposed, a final presentation and review by the full San Diego City Council is expected in June.

The current ADU Bonus Program allows developers to build one market-rate unit for every deed-restricted affordable ADU, with no hard cap on the total number, as long as the property is within a half-mile of public transit, such as a bus or trolley stop. Critics argue this is a policy loophole that needs to be closed because it is being exploited by developers to achieve over-development.

Regarding San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s 24 proposed amendments to the City’s ADU and Junior ADU regulations, City planning director Heidi Vonblum said: “These amendments will help us create more housing opportunities for San Diegans while ensuring that new development is consistent with the scale and character of San Diego’s neighborhoods and addressing public safety concerns. We appreciate the Planning Commission’s feedback and look forward to continuing the conversation with the community and stakeholders throughout this process.”

The City also maintains that building ADUs alongside a primary residence “can play a key role in addressing San Diego’s critical housing shortage by producing homes for people of all incomes.” The City also contended that the proposed amendments to the ADU Home Density Bonus Program also address infrastructure needs, development scale, parking, affordable housing compliance, evacuation routes, fire sprinkler requirements, and setbacks.

In public testimony, Danna Givit, vice chair of Neighbors For a Better San Diego said: “We support fire zone setbacks. The fire marshal must review the plans for projects in fire zones. We also support development scale with modifications and parking (requirements) with modifications. These are additional code amendments that Neighbors support: adopting the state code for height limits, the number of stories and setbacks, capping the total housing units (allowed) at four per single-family parcel, and sunsetting the ADU Bonus Program in 2029. These changes are what will make ADUs compatible with our neighborhoods.”

Larry Webb of the Mission Beach Precise Planning Board warned commissioners that allowing more ADUs would threaten the quality of life in their community. “The board voted in April to recommend that the City not allow ADUs, in any form, in Mission Beach,” he said adding, “State ADU law allows municipalities to exclude ADUs from certain areas. Mission Beach currently has a density level of 36 units per acre. If ADUs were allowed, the resulting density could be as high as 55 to 72 units per acre.”

“What I want to talk about is the process: process matters,” argued Marcella Bothwell of Pacific Beach who chairs Neighbors For A Better California. “This (ADU Bonus) process should have been transparent and accountable. We wouldn’t be here if the (City) Planning Department thought of the community as a partner, rather than an obstacle. [The program] encourages micro-units, not places for families, and will increase eventually the land prices, and thus the cost of housing. So start thinking about your community as a partner, as a resource – not an obstacle.”

Andrea Schlageter from Point Loma of the Community Planners Committee (CPC) representing the City’s 41 planning groups said: “The initial spirit of the law when this was passed was to create more housing for residents. Unfortunately, we now see Airbnb investors building these ADUs, and then renting out their main house. Please make it so that no one can rent anything on a property that has used the ADA bonus law for less than 31 days.”

“We urge you to have a transparent public review process with these revisions,” urged another public testifier on May 1.“This program still goes far beyond what the state law requires. It allows clusters of ADUs on single-family lots and continues to treat moderate-income homes as affordable.”

CALIFORNIA ADU LAWS:

• Owner-Occupancy: California state law has permanently eliminated owner-occupancy requirements for ADUs, meaning local agencies cannot impose such requirements.

Rentals: Owners can build ADUs and rent them out.

• Pre-Approved Plans: Local agencies are required to have pre-approved ADU plans available online, streamlining the approval process.
• Application Approval: Applications for ADUs using pre-approved plans must be approved or denied within 30 days.
• Height Restrictions: ADUs can now be built up to 25 feet in height.
• Front Setbacks: An 800-square-foot ADU encroaching on the front setback is no longer a basis for denial.