Opposition to accessory dwelling units continues to grow as Pacific Beach residents name multiple projects they say are wrong for their community.
Around 60 residents filled the Crown Point Junior Music Academy’s auditorium for the Feb. 19 Pacific Beach Town Council meeting to discuss recent building developments and efforts to block the construction of the proposed 22-story Vela project on Turquoise Street.
But that project is not the only large multi-unit housing project to which they object. They say developments on small lots are stretching the City of San Diego’s ADU bonus program beyond recognition.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Marcella Bothwell, a PB Town Council director who is also the PB Planning Group chair and also chairs the non-profit Neighbors for a Better California, an advocacy group for responsible planning.
“This ADU stuff is now starting to come into our neighborhood,” Bothwell said. “So we’re going to have to fight this.”
The San Diego City Council adopted the Bonus ADU Program in October 2020 to address the affordable housing crisis. It provides various incentives for developers to build additional or “bonus” rental units for low- and moderate-income residents in addition to the two ADUs allowed on a property by state law.
However, developers have occasionally twisted the original intent according to the July 2024 study “Not So Gentle Density: An Early Assessment of the San Diego Bonus ADU Program” by the University of California Berkeley and University of Texas Austin.
“While the typical backyard ADU is developed by a homeowner living on the property to gain additional rental income, the typical Bonus ADU has an entirely different business model,” the study states. “Developers are buying existing single-family homes and duplexes on suitable lots and adding large numbers of units while operating them as rental housing.”
As a local example, Bothwell mentioned a proposed 30-unit ADU development on Morrell Street in Crown Point.
“They have two lots,” she said. “So it’s a 100-square-foot frontage and they’re trying to put 30 units on that and the only way to do that is with the ADU law. … This is devastating for Crown Point to have a 30-unit ADU project.”
According to Bothwell, the developers want to breach the 30-foot height limit by topping out their project at 43 feet, but added she was told by a city planner that the request would be a “non-starter … on that particular project.”
Because the PB Planning Group is merely an advisory board whose recommendations the city can ignore, the issue will be decided by the city’s Planning Commission. Bothwell said the city has thrown up another roadblock in case the PB planners get an unsatisfactory ruling.
“There’s a difference between a legitimate reason and a legitimate legal reason to put in an appeal to the Planning Commission on this particular project,” she said. “If we do an appeal, the city (has taken) away our $1,000 deferred cost for doing appeals. So if we need to appeal, we will be coming around and asking for money.”
Meeting attendees mentioned other examples of inappropriate projects.
Barry Kranz brought up a 130-unit ADU project on Pacifica Drive behind Kings Cross Church in his neighborhood. Because the bonus ADU program allows projects to skirt parking requirements for multi-unit housing, Kranz decried the probable consequences.
“So there’s a five-acre parcel right there, but the plans only have nine parking spots for 130 units,” he said. “So where are all those cars going to park? … It’s already a headache for us coming out of that condo complex. The traffic is backed up all the way to that stop sign. There are 130 more units with no parking going up.”
PB Town Council Director Cathie Jolley described her ordeal after the city convinced the Coastal Commission to allow zero setbacks for its ADU program.
Although the city later rescinded the incentive, it was on the Coastal Commission’s books when a couple purchased the house next door to hers.
“They came over,” Jolley said. “Introduced themselves. Said we’re going to do a small rebuild. We might do something with the garage. We’ll see what’s going on. (Then one day), my husband and I came home. They had constructed a 20-plus-foot wall and erected it in one day four inches from our fence line.”
According to Jolley, her backyard lawn and other plants are slowly wilting because the wall blocks their main source of sunlight. In addition, the wall is beginning to deteriorate.
“We are at a complete ime,” she said. “We have attorneys involved. It is a complete nightmare.”
Jolley pleaded with the audience, which included representatives of elected officials, to advocate for closing loopholes that arise out of well-intentioned legislation, which led to her situation.
“We can’t fix this,” she said. “But I can fight to make sure that this does not happen to anybody else … because there’s no going back in my backyard. I will never not have a 20-foot wall next to my house.”
Bothwell said some progress has been made in the fight against the proposed Vela Tower on Turquoise Street.
Wondering how the project arrived at its high base density, she said PB Planning Group member Karl Rand discovered the 47 units per acre applied by developer Kalonymus LLC was derived from the commercial section of the community code.
That specific base density requires a discretionary permit, meaning it must be approved by the city. Bothwell said her group’s letter on the matter was received by the mayor’s office and will be forwarded to the Development Services Department.
“Because if we can get the base density down, that reduces the building from 74 residential units down to 40 automatically,” she said. “Then we still have the hotel to deal with, but it’s a start.”
As for other meeting topics, City Clerk Diana Fuentes discussed provisions to streamline the electoral process istered by her office as part of a citywide effort to gather voter input.
Fuentes presented 13 recommendations, including more concise candidate forms and public notices, additional locations and publications for public notices, standardized residency requirement dates for candidates, extended filing dates for candidates when incumbents drop out and special elections reform.
“Running for office is definitely the most impactful way to make a difference in your community,” Fuentes said. “We can all create a more transparent and inclusive process.”
