SAN DIEGO — Under the City of San Diego’s bonus Accessory Dwelling Unit program, a developer can build more than one ADU on a property as long as every other unit they build on the lot is set aside for affordable rent. But according to city records, the program is not working as city leaders had hoped.
A perfect example can be seen in the College East neighborhood, where six brand new ADUs just went up on a lot that used to have just one single family home.
“This is density plopped down in the middle of a neighborhood,” said Danna Givot with Neighbors for a Better San Diego.
She says there's not a single unit in that College East complex, or another one being built around the corner, that is reserved for people with low or very-low incomes.
“It’s not doing what was intended - which was to create affordable housing. Truly affordable housing in higher income opportunity zones.”
Developers have the option to make their affordable ADU units available at three different levels:
- Very Low Income, which they can rent for $1,379 a month
- Low Income for $2,205 a month
- Moderate Income for $2,570 a month
At a Land Use and Housing Committee meeting in 2022, several councilmembers and speakers raised concerns about ADUs actually being built for low and very low income San Diegans, including Councilman Stephen Whitburn who said at that meeting, “Certainly, my goal would be to increase the number of units that we're making affordable for low and very low income individuals.”
The City ended up amending its original program to add an incentive for builders. It allows them to raise their rent to market rate after just 10 years, instead of 15 years for moderate income rentals, if they agree to price their units at the low or very low level. So far, that hasn’t worked.
“There have been exactly zero deeded affordable units for very low and low income households that have been part of the ADU bonus program,” Givot said.
An independent housing expert told CBS 8 that he's actually okay with all the units slated for moderate income people because he says that's a huge area of need for singles - especially seniors and young people.
But neighbors fear that comes at a cost.
“They're buying up the starter home in San Diego which is particularly unfortunate for people who are not already home owners,” Givot said. “They're turning San Diego into a city of renters.”
Watch Related: New ADU laws come to California as 2024 begins (Jan 10, 2024)