By Brae Canlen
When I was asked to be a judge for the OB Rag’s “Worst ADU in San Diego” contest, I figured I’d be looking at oversized buildings behind single family homes, like what I often see in my North Park neighborhood. I had no idea what I was in for.
Word of this contest must have spread, because entries came in from all over the city.
Towards the top of the “worst” list were the multi-unit ADUs (11, 12, 14 units). Clearly not a granny flat, unless Granny has lots of friends who like to sleep over.
Most of these multi-units provide almost no on-site parking for the new residents. I immediately thought of the neighbors. Are all residents (new and old) going to start
taking public transportation en masse? I think not.
Other criteria were obtrusiveness and ugliness. Subjective, I know. But it tells you something when all five judges pretty much agreed on those. (Except for the Prince mural; I kinda liked it!)
While some of the other judges were more well-versed in ADU regulations and zoning violations, I tried to measure the human impact. I empathized with the residents who once saw open sky out their window and now stare at stucco walls. Or whose neighbors erected a building right on their property line, or inches away from their chimney.
When we got to the top three, the Gold, Silver, and Bronze, it was a dead heat. Judges kept switching their votes. For me, it was a race to the bottom. They were equally bad.
Is this really what the Mayor and the City Council envisioned when they loosened the ADU regulations? Do they even care?
This experience has left me a little shell shocked. I feel stupid to say this, but I had no idea such unbridled greed was taking place. I’m sure there are people out there who are
perfectly fine with the expanded ADU rules, citing the need for additional housing in San Diego. To them, I say: I hope someone builds a big ADU next to your house and paints a mural of Mick Jagger on the wall.
It’s shocking to see these towering boxes pop up in tight spots. The greed is unparalleled. These ruin the next door neighbors homes. They all could loose their fire insurance. It ruins the vibe for the entire neighborhood. When our Mayor & city council did away with our codes & regulations, he stole from us. We looked into all of that when we paid more for our home. He just devaluated all of our homes. There was a reason those codes & height regulations were in place…to keep our communities clean and beautiful. These ADU’s should be taken down.
Vote for Larry Turner for Mayor
If you want a change, vote for Larry Turner for Mayor
Yes! And if you live in CD9, vote for Terry Hoskins for council member of CD9.
If I had a neighbor who built an ADU on my property line, or had taken away my view, I would have the SD County Tax Assessor’s office come out and do a re-evaluation on my proerty, for the decrease in value. I would also do whatever it took to get the Mayor and City Council to put limits on quantity of SRO/STR/ADU’s allowed and if the property owner couldn’t rent them out as short term rentals, they could keep them empty or rent them as low income apartments. This mayor and council reps have destroyed many communities including North Park with their lack of concern or care for the entire community and the negative impact they created.
We have lived on this beautiful canyon since 2007. We loved this house and view and after Escrow closed and we settled in, we found ourselves surrounded by the “best”neighbors anyone could hope for. We have never even “thought” about living anywhere else, why would we? And then THIS happened. We attended various meetings, shared and read emails like this one, actually “thought about the future of this town and the leadership who literally do not, DOES NOT, care about the thousands of people. Not even a flyer under the door. A visit from a Councilperson. Some of our neighbors are pulling up and leaving their homes, many who have lived here for decades, raised families, and had a decent chance of looking at the future with a measure of security that their Golden Years would be spent in their “Home”. No longer the Family HOME. NO ONE HAS VISITED THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, never to find out what the public felt before they started pulling up trees, grading hillsides denuding them and not leaving a green leaf on the lot. No parking, no common household storage (Bikes, luggage, , rubbish pickup (where will they store their 3 bins when not in the street? where will they put the bins on trash day?) We live in a Fire Zone. Think about that and look at city maps to preview the thought of firetrucks trying to find a place to park, hook up and needing to evacuate. Brae, I am so happy to read your article this morning, an understanding and realistic take on this invasion. Your confession that reads “This experience has left me a little shell shocked. I feel stupid to say this, but I had no idea such unbridled greed was taking place.” There is no end to the people who have been affected, and who have worked their fingers to the bone, literally, with the dumbstruck look on their faces saying “I had no idea, isn’t that illegal?” Thank again, Brae, for your clarity.
Speaking of “I had no idea, isn’t that illegal?”…
Exactly the same thing happened with illegal STVRs. The city ignored them, council members got in on the action by owning them, and then when the outcry got too loud, they rewarded lawbreakers by legalizing them.
Thank you for your excellent response, hitting on some of the issues that are rarely addressed. The reality of life in our neighborhood after we are I undated with more cars, with no parking spaces. On often narrow streets. Yes, where do we put our trash cans? Trash can wars, here we come.
Todd Gloria is owned by the developers. Along with this destructive building of multiple ADU’s he is eliminating historical protections that we once had. He is not listening to his constituents, does not really care what we think. Vote for Larry. Oh and in addition he has or is attempting to move all power and do his office, so nothing goes out to the public without his permission and he wants to control all of the agencies that work for the city. It sounds like someone we know who is running again for the office of President.
Here’s what council member Joe LaCava said regarding the recent heat wave:
“Please take care by drinking lots of water and staying out of the sun. If you do not have access to AC or are unable to cool down, please take advantage of one of the city’s free cool zones. Stay safe, SD!”
How do people stay out of the sun while walking to the bus stop and waiting for the bus after moving into one of the no-trees (due to zero setbacks), no-parking, high-density housing units promoted by Joe? How do these working people get time off from their jobs to “take advantage of one of the city’s free cool zones”?
Joe has been quite open about forcing people to walk, ride bikes or use mass transit to get around. He has refused to answer questions about whether he himself takes his own advice and walks, rides a bike or uses mass transit to get to Council meetings. And of course there are no high-density projects in his upscale neighborhood.
Now he tells them to stay cool. How’s that working out for them?
He’s no alone, of course. Just one of the entire group of hypocrites looking out for their own interests while trashing the city for the rest of us.
Here’s what council member Joe LaCava said regarding the recent heat wave:
“Please take care by drinking lots of water and staying out of the sun. If you do not have access to AC or are unable to cool down, please take advantage of one of the city’s free cool zones. Stay safe, SD!”
How do people stay out of the sun while walking to the bus stop and waiting for the bus after moving into one of the no-trees (due to zero setbacks), no-parking, high-density housing units promoted by Joe? How do these working people get time off from their jobs to “take advantage of one of the city’s free cool zones”?
Joe has been quite open about forcing people to walk, ride bikes or use mass transit to get around. He has refused to answer questions about whether he himself takes his own advice and walks, rides a bike or uses mass transit to get to Council meetings. And of course there are no high-density projects in his upscale neighborhood.
Now he tells them to stay cool. How’s that working out for them?
He’s not alone, of course. Just one of the entire group of hypocrites looking out for their own interests while trashing the city for the rest of us.
Todd Gloria has taken the reins as his good friend (& mentor for future employment,power & promotions) Toni Atkins and her wife Jennifer LeSar pushed this years ago.
Article from 2019: https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-toni-atkins-spouse-housing-contracts-20190404-story.html
“In the last three years, LeSar’s firms have received $1.3 million from state agencies alone, including contracts to implement one of the state’s largest low-income housing programs, which Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego, supports.”
I keep hoping that those who vote, will see what our City is doing. They are not concerned about serving those who pay the taxes that fund the city. As always, follow the money – and see who the City Mayor and local Council Rep’s are being supported by… These are NOT ADU’s – these are an end run by Developers, lead from Sacramento, and supported by some cities with weak, and greedy, leadership – to bypass Zoning. THESE ARE APARTMENT UNITS, in Residential Zoning… Very clear for anyone to see… Please San Diego Voters – say enough, is enough – and ‘Sweep the Council, and Boot the Mayor’! (That is my opinion…)
Todd Gloria is destroying our neighborhoods. He believes that the concept of single-family neighborhoods is racist and must be destroyed by promoting the building of apartment buildings in backyards. Bringing misery to neighbors who lose their views, openness, and privacy. He has turned Hillcrest, the people that supported him, into a concrete jungle of apartment buildings.
Then there are those of us who are building one ADU on the back of our property so that our son, his wife and baby can afford to have a home. Our grandson will be playing in our backyard and even though it isn’t required, we are putting in a parking space so that they won’t have to park on the street. Most of the ADU’s in our neighborhood have included parking. I am hoping when it is complete that you will have a competition for the prettiest ADU so that we can submit ours in the competition. Yes, the City Council should not have allowed this huge change to our neighborhoods but “Don’t through out the baby with the bathwater”. Let’s push for sensible regulations to save our neighborhoods yet help this generation be part of our neighborhoods rather than having to move to another state.
The original concept of the ADU is a good one; it’s the bastardization of that idea by Gloria & Co. which makes ADUs small apartments without the necessary accouterments.