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San Diego City Council approves rollback of ADU incentives

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San Diego City Council approves rollback of ADU incentives


The San Diego City Council voted 5-4 on Monday to impose new restrictions on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), setting up a possible confrontation with state housing officials who warned the changes could violate state law.

Included in the package of reforms proposed by the City Planning Department are new fees to pay for infrastructure, parking requirements for properties far from public transit and restrictions on cul-de-sacs and in wildfire hazard zones.

The greatest change to the program is a new cap on the number of ADUs a homeowner can build in their backyard. The city’s ADU bonus program currently has no such cap, but does restrict the number of ADUs based on lot size, height limit and other zoning regulations.

Councilmember Henry Foster III proposed a cap of four ADUs for lots that are 8,000 square feet or less, five ADUs for lots between 8,001 and 10,000 square feet and six ADUs on lots of 10,001 square feet or more. The standard lot size for a single-family home in the vast majority of San Diego is 5,000 square feet.

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An earlier motion that would have limited all properties to four ADUs failed to win a majority. Foster’s motion passed 5-4 after Council President Joe LaCava switched his vote to “yes.” Also voting “yes” were Councilmembers Jennifer Campbell, Marni von Wilpert and Raul Campillo. Councilmembers Stephen Whitburn, Kent Lee, Vivian Moreno and Sean Elo-Rivera voted “no.”

“ADUs (are) part of our housing solution,” LaCava said after more than four hours of public testimony, most of it in opposition to large ADU projects. “But it doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be right-sized.”

Also included in the package of reforms is an allowance for homeowners to sell off ADUs separately as condominiums.

Mayor Todd Gloria and the council have been under pressure to scale back the ADU bonus program, which has led to some projects with a dozen or more ADUs on a single property. Homeowner groups say such projects reduce privacy, constrain parking supply and alter the visual character of suburban-style neighborhoods.

Neighbors for a Better San Diego, the group leading the opposition to the ADU bonus program, sent an email Monday night saying the council’s reforms were “not perfect, but definitely better.”

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“It’s not the ‘4 is Fair Everywhere’ that we had hoped for,” the email said, referring to the group’s preference for a citywide cap of three ADUs per property in addition to the primary residence. “But it will greatly reduce the damage that has been done to neighborhoods by predatory investors under this program.”

Last Friday, the state’s Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) sent San Diego a letter threatening to find the city in violation of state law if the reforms were approved as presented. The ADU bonus program is a component of the city’s strategy to undo the racist and discriminatory housing policies of past generations, the letter argues, and reducing its scope could hinder those efforts.

City staff, who said the letter took them by surprise, swiftly revised their recommendations, agreeing to keep the ADU bonus program in place in wealthy, low-density neighborhoods such as Point Loma, La Jolla and Del Mar Heights where the program had been proposed for removal.

City staffers said they would respond to HCD in writing by the agency’s deadline of July 11.

“What the City Council approved closely aligns with the staff’s recommendation,” mayoral spokesperson Rachel Laing told KPBS. “We thank the council for their feedback and friendly amendments. We’ll continue to engage with the state’s Housing and Community Development agency to ensure San Diego’s housing element remains in compliance and that we maintain our prohousing designation.”

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Defenders of the ADU bonus program say it has produced hundreds of lower-cost housing options in neighborhoods dominated by more expensive single-family homes, and that it’s creating affordable housing for the middle class with no subsidy from taxpayers.

“That’s incredibly meaningful to the people who live in those homes now, and I’m glad that they were built,” said Councilmember Moreno. “But it’s not enough. We still need more housing for families.”

San Diego permitted 5,720 ADUs between 2021 and 2024, according to figures shared by city staffers. Of those, 875 were permitted under the city’s ADU bonus program.

Saad Asad, spokesperson for the prohousing YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County, said the council’s reforms would make housing more expensive and harder to find.

“With one vote, City Council just made it harder to build affordable housing during a housing shortage,” Asad said. “They’ve effectively told San Diegans: Pay more to live here, or move farther out and sit in traffic.”

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Game 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels

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Game 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels


San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Angel Stadium – Anaheim, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com

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Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com


— 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.

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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.

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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

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How San Diego Has Quietly Emerged as One of America’s Great Dining Destinations

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How San Diego Has Quietly Emerged as One of America’s Great Dining Destinations


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.

Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.

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Gage Forster

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.

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. 

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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.

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.

Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.

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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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