Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
San Diego, CA
If San Diego wants more family-sized apartments, an update to the building code may help
San Diego has emerged as a leader in the nationwide effort to reform local zoning laws to build more housing. But most of the new apartments going up are studios and one-bedroom apartments. Families with children often have to look to the suburbs to find two- and three-bedroom homes they can afford.
As San Diego seeks to encourage more family-sized apartments in its urban core, architects say the key lies not in the city’s zoning laws but its building code. Specifically, a requirement that any building above three stories have two staircases.
A growing “single-stair reform” movement across North America argues this rule — adopted in the early 20th century to allow for faster evacuation during fires — has outlived its purpose. Most countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia, and a few cities in the United States, allow single-stairway buildings of six stories or taller.
Proponents say fire prevention and suppression technology has evolved to the point that a second staircase doesn’t provide much safety benefit. California now requires sprinkler systems in all new residential buildings, meaning fires are extinguished more quickly. Regulations on fire-resistant furniture and building materials have also reduced the risk of fires spreading out of control.
Late last year, the San Diego City Council voted to offer relief from fees on certain three-bedroom apartments to encourage developers to include them in their projects. David Pearson, a San Diego-based architect, said single-stair reform could go much further toward that goal.
Pearson designed a three-story, single-stair apartment building that’s due to break ground this summer in the backyard of a single-family home in Grant Hill. Four of the new homes will have two bedrooms, plus a den space that could serve as an office or nursery.
Pearson said he and his client chose a single-stair layout because it allowed for a shared courtyard, the preservation of the existing house and more space devoted to housing rather than halls and stairways. Single-stair buildings can also allow more units to have windows on multiple sides, which can reduce electricity use by providing more natural light and ventilation.
“If we were to build a second stair and try to create more units, it would have taken over any leftover space,” Pearson said. “It very likely would have incentivized the owner to demolish the existing home and just do the biggest thing possible.”
Most dual-staircase buildings use a layout called a “double-loaded corridor.” Pearson likened the design to a hotel: two staircases on opposite ends of the building connected by a long hallway. Most of the units in these buildings have only one side that opens to the outdoors.
Last year, California passed a law that directed the state fire marshal to produce a study on the safety of single-stair apartment buildings above three stories. The study is due by the end of the year.
Tony Tosca, San Diego’s local fire marshal, said his initial reaction to the law was concern. Building fires can be chaotic, he said, and having multiple paths of ingress and egress can be valuable.
“People are going up there to do rescue and fight fires and set up their operations,” Tosca said.”People are also coming out, so there’s this competing factor. That’s a huge concern for me.”
Still, Tosca said he’s open to allowing taller single-stair buildings if they’re coupled with other life and safety regulations, such as limiting the number of units allowed on each floor.
“Housing is an important issue here in California, especially in San Diego,” Tosca said. “As long as there’s something that maintains that life safety aspect, we’re all in support of it. But we just have to make sure that it’s done the right way.”
One organization pushing for statewide single-stair reform is the Los Angeles-based Livable Communities Initiative.
The group’s policy director, Ed Mendoza, said in addition to offering better light, ventilation and open space, single-stair reform can lead to greater density within smaller buildings that fit better into a neighborhood’s architectural character. Today, developers often have to purchase multiple lots to have enough space for a project that makes economic sense.
“We don’t have to wait for large sites to get combined, we don’t have to have half of our neighborhood block torn for one apartment complex,” Mendoza said. “The impact (of growth) won’t be that sudden. It’ll be a very gradual thing.”
Mendoza said he has worked with officials in cities like Santa Monica, Burbank and San Luis Obispo to study local building code amendments to allow taller single-stair buildings. He and Pearson also had a meeting with an aide to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria last year.
Pearson said he hopes Gloria sees the value in single-stair reform and directs city staff to study the issue more closely.
“I would like to see the city look at building code reform as a means to create good, safe family units that ultimately provide more freedom of choice for residents of San Diego to stay put in San Diego, not move out to the suburbs,” Pearson said.
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San Diego, CA
Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”
It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says.
The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.
Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.
Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.
Eric Wolfinger
“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments.
Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.
The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.
Kimberly Motos
About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”
Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.
Gage Forster
Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.
“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”
Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.
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