Chris Poblete of Linda Vista brought his three children to Monday’s City Council Bonus ADU hearing. The four of them waited nearly 4 hours until he was called to speak. If you were there, you will remember him. Here is his testimony:
By Chris Poblete / June 20, 2025
I took time off work to be here. I’ve never been to a Council meeting. I wouldn’t know most of these wonderful people here if it weren’t for this issue that’s affecting me that I heard about five weeks ago.
Let me be clear. I am an ADU builder. I’ve built ADUs on two of my properties. Each ADU has two parking spaces. All my ADUs have below-market rental rates. It’s possible.
I encourage all my colleagues at work to do the same thing: Buy a house. Build an ADU. Help solve the housing crisis. You don’t have to be greedy about it.
This issue is affecting my cul-de-sac. It’s a safety concern because there is no parking. Christian Spicer of SDRE is building 10 units on a single-family lot. I didn’t know about this until four weeks ago when the excavator showed up and started digging for the construction.
When I heard from my neighbors that it was going to be a 10-unit project, I was shocked. We have a narrow cul-de-sac. There’s no room for 20 cars. I’m fighting for my family. It’s a fire hazard.
There is no transparency. When I build an ADU on my lot. I let my community know. I provide parking, I provide all the amenities I would want if I lived there. It’s possible.
I’m asking you to stop this project in my cul-de-sac, Project PRJ1124433, now. Ask the developer to rework it. Thank you, Raul (Campillo), for sending Miles (Noel) and Summer (Patton) to my house to meet with our community to try and set up a meeting with the developer. Unfortunately, the developer didn’t show up.
The Bonus ADU program is pro-developer and anti-middle class. This was a run-down 2-bedroom 1-bath house. It had an estimated value of $800,000, and it was put on the market for $995,000 because the sellers were already getting calls before they put it on the market. Spicer bought it for $1.225 million, beating any competitor.
Christian Spicer, owner of SDRE, this is all from his website, read it. He started SDRE, he started Pro-Cal, he started Vertical MVMT, he owns the construction company. He’s making bank. People who are homeowners and who care about the community would not do that.
I finally met a developer who was sitting here in a blue blazer. I politely asked him, “Why do you provide units with no parking? What’s up with that? Do I have the wrong mindset?”
Please stop this.
Chris, I thank you for taking the time last Monday to speak to the city council against the bonus ADU program. I agreed with your every word.
You are a decent man and father. Let’s hope others heard you and learn from your example; because oh, what a wonderful world we would be.
Chris, I heard you loud and clear on Monday and so respect you for taking the time off work and bringing your family in to speak before the Council. We hear too much from developers about how projects won’t “pencil out” if they aren’t allowed to do this or that, but obviously you have found a way to build ADUs in smaller, reasonable numbers and provide parking. We, the residents of San Diego and the council members, need to hear this and know this is possible. Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with us and for speaking over the voices of greed and excessive profit. I applaud your courage and candor and hope we will continue to hear from you.
Always enjoy hearing developers talk about how hard they have it when some of the wealthiest individuals I know and have met are developers.
Frankly, it seems like being anything but a finance professional or real estate developer doesn’t pencil out.
Listening to Chris address the Council, and watching their respectful expressions, gave me great hope for the future of San Diego. This 38-year-old builder (and father of three well-behaved children!) puts sinister developers like Christian Spicer to shame. The 5-4 Council vote was a watershed moment. But the Bonus ADU battle is far from over. We must look to young leaders like Chris to keep up the pressure on City Hall.
Thank you, Chris, for taking the time (attending a meeting for hours with your family!) to speak out as you have on this issue.
It’s incredibly important for someone with your experience and in your situation to make the point that building affordable AND appropriate ADUs that make sense for our neighborhoods is something that can and is being done. Calling out Spicer’s cynicism (demonstrated on SDRE’s misleading website) and greed (demonstrated by his actual projects and actions) is crucial for clarifying to our elected representatives that they need to stop prioritizing the theories of the Planning Department and the claims of developers.
Instead, our councilmembers need to listen to the voices of those on the ground who live in communities afflicted by bad ADU developments and can tell it like it is. You are a great example of that and your words may well have influenced the voting outcome.
Thank you Chris for the perspectives that you shared with the City Council. Many of us have not been to a Council meeting before this year, and it does take a lot of effort. Our city leaders need to hear from us about responsible development. Thank you!
Thank you Chris. Not only does it take time and effort to drive, park, or take public transit downtown, then get to the 12th floor, it takes courage to stand in front of the formidable stage of council and speak. One minute (or more depending) has to be planned so that the most important points will be presented. Thank you for leading the charge as a builder with integrity. We tend to stereotype people who are part of a group, and the builder/developer in San Diego has a reputation based on a few smug developers who speak at local meetings, explaining they can’t possibly change their design to a smaller project with parking because it doesn’t ‘pencil out.’ So thanks Chris, you have opened my eyes to my own bias against land developers. It is people like you who are willing to speak out, and take actions that show all of us that responsible building is possible. Mahalo!