Now that the OB Rag has closed the entry-phase of our “Worst ADU” contest, it enters the judging stage where our judge panel will examine the entries and eventually decide the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards.
The Rag received 43 entries from 20 neighborhoods
The response to our contest has been astonishing. By last Friday’s deadline, we received 43 entries from 20 communities across the city — from Torrey Hills to Logan Heights, from Ocean Beach to Kearny Mesa.
While the volume of entries was great for our contest, it also speaks to the disaster Todd Gloria’s “Bonus ADU” program has brought to many San Diego neighborhoods. If anyone questioned the results of those policies, this contest would erase all doubts.
Because the response surpassed our expectations, we will need more time for site visits and judging. Contest results will be announced September 12.
The OB Rag believes that San Diego’s neighborhoods are worth fighting for. We think the original concept of the ADU is good. But by now, we’ve all seen how far developers and politicians will go to pervert that idea.
Imposing new rules and densities on neighborhoods from the top-down is not in the spirit of community democratic decision-making. The residents – be they renters or homeowners – deserve a voice in how their communities are developed.
This is something the Rag has fought for over the last half century, and we will continue that fight.
on the contrary, see… https://www.aducalifornia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SD-ADU-Interim-Report.pdf — a quote from the article: “San Diego officials have created one of the most effective missing middle housing reforms in the country”
I get the sense that the majority of the readers of this blog are older homeowners. They have lived in their homes for decades most likely and may even have their mortgage paid off. Rising home values and a lack of affordability for ownership or rents don’t affect most of the residents in OB. For them they care mostly about having things remain the same as when they bought in the 1980s. If that means that younger generations can’t afford to buy or rent, then so be it.
JP, ya really need to do more research. For starters, about 80% of the residents of OB are renters. And even as renters, some have lived in their homes for years despite the challenges of having the housing stock gobbled up for short term rentals and living at the whims of some of the more capitalist-minded large landowners and corporate investors.
I myself was an OB renter for 30 years. Sure, some as they grow older, gravitate to finding homes they can buy — but owning your own home is not some great panacea. In fact, over half of all San Diego residents are renters. So, your entire premise, “rising home values and a lack of affordability for ownership or rents don’t affect most of the residents in OB,” is wrong.
Even if that were the case JP, which I do not believe it is, why would you fault someone for protecting their hard earned investment? I think you would do the same thing were you lucky enough/smart enough to get in “in the 80’s”. I think there is enough precedent set that building what you can, where you can, as fast as you can, has done NOTHING to bring prices down.
This is the sentiment that chaps my ass the most, ” If that means that younger generations can’t afford to buy or rent, then so be it.”
The “younger generation” you refer too are our sons and daughters and nieces and nephews and grandchildren. What, you think all of us older folks are childless?
They do — they think we’re all ‘Childless Cat Ladies.’
Not really troll dude, we help our families when necessary. Your reactions are mindless when you believe we just close off and don’t give a shit. We’re not immune to the market forces, and blowing up the landscape for little closets with no parking TO RENT is irresponsible and not quality of life, to rent or own. Only so much space is available so you just might have to live with it, and uh, feel free to move on if you don’t like it. Nobody owes you a closet rental in your desired area. And to characterize that as not building a better world for the next generation is nothing more than a guilt trip.
Why do you think JP that older, more secure homeowners are not helping their kids in the ownership environment? Seems pretty shortsighted if you believe they’re not immune from the market. I’m helping my kids so they don’t have to live in 500 sq ft crackerjack boxes to rent. We’re not the issue. We have to navigate the same field as you and take the blame for it.
Wrong. 85% of Obceans are renters.
These ADUs are a bandaid and reinforce a permanent market renter class, meanwhile increasing property values and income for existing property owners, most of which don’t even live in the community.
We need to be creating more entry level ownership opportunities. The small-lot subdivision code is one of the few that addresses this need.
JP, your concerns about affordable housing are valid. However, the Bonus ADU Program makes ALL of those problems WORSE. The program is not creating truly affordable housing by any stretch. You can read more about that here: https://www.neighborsforabettersandiego.org/bonus-adu-program
Even worse, by allowing high density in single-family-zoned neighborhoods, the cost of the underlying land INCREASES. This happens because that land is now based on the income-producing potential of multiple rental units opposed to one single-family home. (Supply-and-demand does not work with infill development.)
To add insult to injury, developers are now incentivized to overpay for San Diego starter homes, and they can easily outbid first-time homebuyers. Our limited supply of starter homes are being permanently removed from the market. Ultimately this leads to the middle class being squeezed out.
And worse yet for young renters like yourself, when the cost of land goes up, so do rents.
Politicians are feeding us lies about housing. It’s always been expensive to live here and it’s terrible now, but it will only get worse with Trojan Horse housing policies like the Bonus ADU Program … Follow the money (and read the link).
Did you read the paper I linked? Probably not, because you replied with something from Neighbors for a Better San Diego — a well-known NIMBY organization that peddles a fear-based narrative and circulates misinformation. Just in that article you linked in comment to JP they state that TPAs are “up to a mile of transit” which is false: it’s one-half mile.
Natalie, Wrong… The TPAs are outdated. The SDA applies now, which means the Bonus ADU Program is allowed on single-family parcels up to a mile from transit (more in some areas).
Your link equates the Bonus ADU Program to “Missing Middle” housing. If you put your bias aside, you will learn why that is completely wrong. Please educate yourself by reading the link I sent you.
Natalie, Back up your accusations and please share a link to a single example of “fear-based misinformation” from NFABSD.
how are these ADUs not missing middle housing? 80-110% AMI = more affordable than market rate. if i can’t afford a market rate single family home but i can afford one of these ADUs then, guess what, the middle aint missing anymore
Natalie, you are literally making up your own definition of Missing Middle housing. It’s actually a very specific and meaningful term in Planning, lol.
Obviously, you still have not read my link. At this point it’s a waste of time to go on with this conversation. Hopefully others were able to learn something, so not a total loss.
I read the article, and yes Neighbors for Better San Diego is 10000% a NIMBY organization, everyone knows that. Also, I went to planning school and in my 15 years living in California haven’t been close to affording home ownership (I do choose to live in expensive areas…) but regardless of that, I studied Parloek/Missing Middle, and he “literally made up his own definition” of it as well LOL.
“”Missing Middle Housing” represents duplexes, classic row houses, townhomes, and properly-scaled apartment buildings, all seamlessly blending in with the surrounding neighborhoods, incrementally adding density closest to transit corridors.” — note the word (pulled from the article: “represents”). You are wrong, it is not a “specific and meaningful term in planning”. It is representative of what could include these designs and doesn’t exclude a “properly-scaled apartment” or “duplex” in someone’s massive backyard space. The term in principle says nothing about zoning.
A more likely read would be ‘San Diego officials have created one of the most middle finger salutes to city residents of large cities around the country.’ It’s a totally biased report and just glorifies San Diego’s radical changes in housing policies. It uses graphs and charts to show just how smart San Diego officials are. And wow, just that, Gloria and his YIMBY construction friends are all exonerated. Wow, that is certainly the experience San Diegans have experienced at the hands of their electeds, isn’t it.
Happy to see a post removed. Apologies for mine that didn’t post, but that one chapped my a$$.
Natalie, the Bonus ADU Program is NOT Missing Middle housing. Far from it. You can learn more about Missing Middle housing here: https://www.neighborsforabettersandiego.org/missing-middle-housing
A few additional points…
1. Missing Middle housing applies to multi-family zoning. But the Bonus ADU program targets single-family zoned neighborhoods.
2. Missing Middle complements the scale and architectural style of the surrounding homes. There’s no such standards for the Bonus ADU Program.
3. Missing Middle housing is designed to create a smooth transition from high-density transit corridors to single family neighborhoods. The Bonus ADU Program (just like SB 10) anllows out-of-scale density bombs to be dropped randomly in single family neighborhoods.
Maybe also run a contest showcasing what you view as the ideal for ADU projects.
Why don’t you and your friends do that, JP. It’s the bad ones that are the problem. It’s like an “Orchid and Onion” contest without the orchids.
JP, I mentioned that in a reply on the original story. Seemed fair at the time.
___
The top picture posted is a butt-hurt ugly freaking building. Would any architect take credit for ‘designing’ it and feel good about themselves? It’s like a drawing an 8 year old could do.
Are there titles to these pictures, like maybe ‘gray brick standing on end waiting for the earthquake’ perhaps?
Can we have another contest naming them???
sealintheSelkirks
We’ll definitely post more with the neighborhood. I never would have guessed they were this bad. And why wouldn’t I. It’s not like the mainstream media is interested so they certainly don’t showcase them.
I like this idea. There are many good examples of thoughtful ADUs, even some multi-unit builds. These are typically the ones funded by an owner who lives on site. Because they care about their neighbors and their impacts on the community.
The developer class only cares about 1 thing… maximum profits. Damn all else.
JP – Ideal would be the state ADU allowance of a single ADU and JADU. That has the potential to triple density without overburdening existing infrastructure and/street parking.
The state created a homeowner incentive, while San Diego created a developer incentive.
I look forward to the results of this evaluation of the forty-three nominations for the worst ADU. Six months ago, I saw a map created by the City of San Diego that showed no less than 137 high rise/high density apartments in residential neighborhoods around San Diego approved using the ADU rules. The actual number today is probably double that. And Todd Gloria waived all developer fees and parking for his developer buddies. In November, I am voting Larry Turner to end this abysmal violation of Zoning and Land Use regulations. I urge everyone to go to the Polls with outrage over these assaults on our residential neighborhoods.
Yes! Vote Larry Turner for Mayor in November! And tell any remaining neighbors. I want to doubt that licensed architects are involved in creating the Rag’s ADU nominees.
(A multi-storey house near mine in a densely-built old residential neighborhood near Windansea Beach is s l o w l y being remodeled into a hotel with a new swimming pool — and a one-car garage that doubtless will become one of many rental units. And I’m betting they will seek some kind of historic designation tax-break, based on the intact 1920’s facade.)
Middle-finger salutes indeed.
Natalie and JP like to trot out the old faithful arguments of developers and investors that it’s old white people who are complaining, ignore them or more units bring down prices. While in reality up-zoning large chunks of the City has pushed up land values.
These are the same folks who said “just widen the freeway and traffic will go away, it’s a supply and demand problem” and then built large communities along the freeway.
There seems to be a mindset that is an extension of the online gaming community bedroom where everything revolves around the computer, social media, with food, the bathroom within an arm length of the computer chair with these 500 sq ft dreams they want to rent.
By repeating developer/politician talking points YIMBYs end up arguing against their own best interests without realizing it. Ironically, organizations like NFABSD and the OB Rag are trying to save them from themselves.
Thanks for including the top right photo of the abortion at 3781 32nd, at North Park Way. The builder crammed four high rise units into a postage stamp sized front yard of a bungalow that already has four units in the back. And there is no parking for this project. None. So the neighbors get screwed with no street parking!!
This could easily be coming to a lot next to you. Projects like this are the canary in the coal mine the ruination of our neighborhoods with piss poor planning.
Smart, high density housing built along the trolley line should be a priority, not the densification of traditional neighborhoods.
Thanks for highlighting this problem and pushing back against the dimwits who think this only about old white retirees complaining.
Love this!
No one planned to be unhoused.
It’s homeless, not “unhoused”. lmao
And plenty of the homeless in San Diego are mentally ill and/or drug users, not people down on their luck.
Gary, perhaps in a perfect world nobody plans to be “unhoused”. But if you go down to the foot of Newport and ask some of the folks sitting on the wall, they’ll tell you that they love the freedom of having no bills, no responsibility and no where to live.
No one plans on becoming an alcoholic, a drug addict or a thief, either, but some people become those things….willingly.
As a society we need to prepare our kids to become productive adults, we also need to hold adults accountable for their actions and well as offer a hand up (not a hand out) when they fall. But society doesn’t have to accept the abuse of people who are anti-social. If you give one of the folks at the end of Newport a nice apartment, most of them strip it of copper, vandalize it, then move back to the foot of Newport.
A simple slogan is not a solution.
https://reason.com/2024/09/03/are-you-living-in-san-diegos-worst-adu/ Made a National Libertarian publication ?