The March 4 Council Resolution to Revise the Bonus ADU Program​​

In response to the growing backlash against the excesses of the Bonus ADU program, the San Diego City Council, at its March 4, 2025, meeting, passed a resolution requesting the Planning Department to return in 90 days with a recommendation for eliminating the Bonus ADU program in single-family residential (RS) zones with minimum lot sizes of 10,000 square feet or more. This deadline was intended to address some of the immediate concerns about projects in Encanto.

Based on analysis of San Diego Housing Commission data, the proposed exclusion of certain zones would only have affected 1% of Bonus ADU projects to date. To address the impacts of the Bonus ADU program citywide, a second part of the Council's resolution requests that the Planning Department consider further revisions to the Bonus ADU program in the remaining single-family zones, which would include RS-1-7 zones where over half of all Bonus ADU projects are built.

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Bypassing promised public input

In response to the Council resolution, the Planning Department is bundling proposed changes in a single code update to be first presented to the Planning Commission on May 1 and submitted to the Council for approval in early June.

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This is not what the Council asked for and what the public expects. What Planning Director Vonblum promised in her February 28 memorandum was that:

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“As part of the 2025 Land Development Code Update process, we plan to share information on our webpage, hold public workshops, receive input, and then bring the item forward for a recommendation from the Community Planners Committee and Planning Commission, prior to presenting the item to Land Use and Housing Committee, and then the City Council. We estimate that this process will allow us to begin the hearing process this Summer.”
 

Contrary to the above highlighted statement, the Planning Department has bypassed public workshops and the Community Planners Committee. Instead, they are going directly to the Planning Commission on May 1, only a few days after releasing the proposed changes to the public. This denies the public the opportunity to address the Planning Department directly and influence meaningful changes.

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Neighbors For A Better San Diego (NFABSD) requests that the Planning Department separate consideration of Parts 1 and 2 of the March 4 resolution, as promised in the February 28 memorandum. 

 

Part 1 – the exclusion of zones with minimum 10,000 square feet – is straightforward and would be considered as planned on May 1. Part 2 of the resolution, covering citywide Bonus ADU regulations, would go through the full code update process, and would be presented to the Planning Commission only after the proposed Bonus ADU Program amendments, including specific proposed code language, have been published and submitted to public input through public workshops and presentation to the Community Planners Committee.

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Click HERE to read NFABSD's April 18 letter to the Planning Department.

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Click HERE for NFABSD's key proposals for reforming the Bonus ADU program.

Click HERE for NFABSD's responses to the Planning Department's proposed amendments to the Bonus ADU program.

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