By Kate Callen / July 14, 2025
Tomorrow — July 15 — should have been the day the San Diego City Council ended four years of predatory development by enacting reforms of the destructive Bonus ADU program.
But the vote, rescheduled from July 1 by Council President Joe La Cava, did not appear on tomorrow’s meeting agenda when it was posted last Wednesday. Then the item was added to the agenda on Thursday. Then it was removed on Friday.
La Cava had said he postponed the July 1 vote at the last minute because Councilmember Jen Campbell was absent. But Campbell has been attending meetings remotely while wearing a neck brace.
Perhaps he will explain the new last-minute postponement when the Council meets. Perhaps his explanation will be plausible. Agenda items are moved all the time for all sorts of reasons.
But the Council President is facing a public that has run out of patience and faith. There have been too many bad deals, too many botched estimates, too many bait-and-switches.
The stakes in the battle for Bonus ADU reform are still high. Right now, across the city, people living near modest homes listed for sale have to wonder: Will that property turn into a multi-story apartment building?
Every extra day City Hall takes to stop monstrous ADU complexes is an extra day for rogue developers to cram outlier projects into the permit pipeline before it closes.
And until the reform vote is taken and recorded, any of the five Councilmembers who supported reform – Campbell, La Cava, Raul Campillo, Henry Foster III, and Marni von Wilpert – might be pressured to flip their votes.
We want to take Mayor Todd Gloria at his word that he supports efforts to curb an aggressive housing policy he championed. We have to hope he is not twisting arms behind the scenes to change the vote and pacify his developer friends.
The Mayor is a career politician. He must know that any 11th-hour attempt to sabotage Bonus ADU reform would trigger a backlash that could lead to a recall effort.
But Gloria has long had a mystifying belief that he can openly defy the will of the people to serve the interests of his powerful donors. That recklessness has led him to rush the city into shady deals with little scrutiny.
His latest gambit is his most outrageous. Gloria still bears the shame of being the Council President who pushed the city to buy 101 Ash Street from a political supporter without the necessary due diligence.
Now Gloria is pushing another 101 Ash Street deal: Pour even more money into the asbestos-ridden building and hand it over to a political supporter with a dubious plan to make it a low-income housing project.
As Paul Krueger reported in a July 7 Rag story, the new 101 Ash deal “could pave the way for yet another financial fiasco tied to this Frankenstein property in the shadow of City Hall. This initial proposal cries out for more detail, and taxpayers should demand that it be subject to a thorough review by an outside, independent real estate expert.”
This warning was taken up Sunday by the Union-Tribune Editorial Board. In a commentary headlined “Credibility-Challenged City Must Not Rush Into Any Ash Street Decision.” the editors wrote:
“The mayor has yet to internalize how much City Hall’s elaborate bait-and-switch on voters in winning approval of much-higher-than-promised new trash fees on 226,000-plus single-family homes has damaged his reputation. If no San Diegans trusted anything he said for the rest of his time in public life, they would have good cause.”
The City of San Diego has a treasury that is running out of funds and a reservoir of public trust that is nearly drained. Elected officials can always come up with a new fee or tax to wring money out of constituents. But how do they intend to replenish lost public confidence?
“The Mayor is a career politician. He must know that any 11th-hour attempt to sabotage Bonus ADU reform would trigger a backlash that could lead to a recall effort.” I’m all for saving single family zoning obviously but Kate do we really think that he’d be recalled? I was supportive of the recall jen efforts but that went nowhere. How are we supposed to get him when it feels like there’s so few of us who care about this issue? I’m dismayed that it seems like, despite some good work around ADUs, we’re goingto have a bunch more homes and new neighbors in places where we DO NOT WANT THEM in San Diego like nice single family zones.
Elected officials are rarely ousted by recall efforts. But they are hobbled by them because the campaigns shine a klieg light on misconduct. Campbell stayed in office, but she never really recovered. Judging by overflow crowds at Council hearings, record numbers of San Diegans care deeply about abusive density. And the most stunning portent of Gloria’s vulnerability is the scathing criticism leveled at him by the U-T Editorial Board. I never thought I’d see that happen. Now is not the time to give up.
I wish I had your optimism Kate. WIth Newsom assuring SB 79 is built I fear the fight is over. Plus I only see, for the most part, old folks like myself concerned about these gigantic changes to our way of life. Who will carry the torch for us to stop all these homes from being built? Why won’t young people join our crusade. I feel like this ends with us and San Diego will be completely unrecognizable as soon as we’re gone. It’s very sad. I wish these young people new the damage they’re doing to the neighborhoods with their demands for more homes. It’s very selfish.
And of course no homes were built during your generation. Oh wait, the most in history of the US were built.
Now I don’t claim that endless building and upzoning is the solution to our housing problems, but let’s not pretend you could afford the same home now as you did then. I bought 10 years ago and could not even afford to buy my house today.
What is your response to 20 year olds that can’t afford their first home to start a family? Drink less Starbucks? What does it benefit them to join your crusade? I’m sure you’d be glad to rent your 2nd paid off home to them for $3500 a month to fund your retirement though.
Frank or Geoff are you OK with this kind of comment on your site? He’s insulting every single one of us who worked hard to buy a home in the 80’s and 90’s and now these entitled kids think they can talk to us like this? I’m shocked.
Not certain who you’re talking about Save…; JH? I know JH and he’s no “entitled kid.” Who else are you up against? Mateo? Please explain.
Aren’t you insulted by KH’s comments? Don’t we all agree we have an AFFORDABLE housing crisis and yet he’s saying “build build build”? He’s disrespecting the entire id and belief structure of this website. Kind of surprising you aren’t deleting it like you’ve deleted other, similar comments.
You seriously can’t be for real lol.
He’s not saying that and he’s not doing that. You’re fairly new to this site, it appears so how is it you’re aware of the “entire id and belief structure of this website”? But yes, we don’t have a housing crisis, we have an affordable housing crisis.
In the 80s and 90’s home prices were approx 4x the median household income. Now they are nearly double that. The highest ever in history.
https://www.longtermtrends.net/home-price-median-annual-income-ratio/
If you expect anyone under 55 who still can’t afford their first home to agree with you on housing policies, you’ll have to be more realistic. We can agree on things that will enable more people to enjoy that same housing security. Remove foreign investors from the market, bring back SALT deductions, shift tax incentives from investors to first time homebuyers… And yes, removing apartment developers from the single family home market is a good step too.
I would even support an empty home tax for those who’d rather sit on empty property or put it on Airbnb then rent it out to a family. I have no sympathy for the type of people that complain about new home construction while they remove existing homes from the market.
If you don’t like the way younger generations talk to and treat older generations, you’re not helping. Like it or not, younger generations are not obligated to hold the same values and thought processes as you or want things to be the same as you’d like them to be. And if you really think what kh said is “shocking”, you must be really thin skinned.
Not shocking, but half on, half off. But that’s the landscape.
Save_SFZ, “The Recall Jen Campbell effort that went nowhere”?
Roughly 90% of the required signatures were painstakingly gathered, during the PANDEMIC by motivated volunteers that took to the streets! Try handing a citizen a cilp-board, petition and pen while social distancing! How dare you!
I was one of the charter members that volunteered with members from Save San Diego Neighborhoods that wholeheartedly spearheaded and formed an adhoc committee and a citywide coalition to recall Jen Campbell. We had volunteers from all 9 districts that made every effort to pitch in and rid this city of her.
How supportive were you of the “recall effort”?
Perhaps if you were an ‘active’ participant in democracy instead of passively ‘supportive” you may have helped get the final signatures we needed to recall her, IN THE THROWS OF THE PANDEMIC.
By the way Save_SFZ, those registered voters signatures and subsequently their addresses that were gathered for the recall?
The addresses collected in the Recall were then used by Campbell’s own self appointed consultant, contracted by this same San Diego City Council to redistrict so the City Council could gerrymander us out of our own district.
Now we have Real Estate lobbyist Joe LaCava for a suedo City Member. He is overseeing the lynch pin to eliminate the California Coastal Commission and specifically kill the 30ft height restriction that is the Pencildick Towers on Turquoise. Joe LaCava been completely inept and anemic by design, while Pacific Beach go to complete shat.
It is time to recall Todd Gloria. Maybe you should consider taking an active role in this recall. “The Future is an achievement, not a gift.” – JFK
Spot on Kate. All the postponements and rescheduling surprises, of the issue seems to have become the way the Planning Dept. works. I remember Heidi vonBlum’s surprise to the public addition to the Bike lanes on 30th. St. at the 11th. hour. Makes me wonder if the powers that be, keep moving the meetings around, so people who had taken off work for the meeting, had to cancel and reschedule or wouldn’t be able to go.
Mateo, I think most young people have not been educated or had enough life experience to think outside their little box, and anticipate results of cause and effect. Those with life experiences have foresight, see what will happen, and can project what the end result will be, and prepare for that. Everything seems to be a surprise for younger generations, at least that’s the way my own grandkids are at times aimlessly watching the world go by and frequently surprised and unprepared. Unless the big picture is spelled out for them, they just don’t think of it, or see it.
Pats, don’t be condescending to the largest voting block in history as if your generation had nothing to do with the sorry state of affairs today.
BTW I am A Gen-X er turned 58 yesterday. As far as activism I am 2.5-4. Saved the Giant Dipper from the wrecking ball in ’87. Fought to Stop the 141 toll road that would have destroyed Trestles. Stalled and delayed efforts to install paid parking in Pacific Beach.
Losses: Drove to Morro Bay to fight against the egregious termination of California Coastal Commissioner Executive Dr. Charles Lester. Helped organize and came impressively close to recalling Jen Campbell, during a pandemic.
“Everything seems to be a surprise for younger generations, at least that’s the way my own grandkids are at times aimlessly watching the world go by and frequently surprised and unprepared. Unless the big picture is spelled out for them, they just don’t think of it, or see it.”
Isn’t it incumbent upon you as the family matriarch, the elder, and Grandmother to inform, educate, and encourage your own flesh and blood to participate in shaping their own future?
Let me ask you… Did you have to walk by 12 different homeless encampments and multiple creepy motorhomes to get to school and then back home everyday?
Did you have active shooter drills at school?
Didn’t the cost of housing remain far below the 20% income threshold throughout most of your life?
Did you have to compete with 192 publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trusts to buy your house?
Did your college education cost you blood and treasure that you had to pay in perpetuity?
Pats, I can tell you what the next generations will blow you away as soon as they can get past the bullsh1t in their way.
Raise young people up, just because your generation failed doesn’t mean they’re destined to. The youth can organize on a level your generation and my generation cannot even fathom. One need look no further than the organizational fury following the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas HS.
Mateo, once again, your memory is coming up short. My generation ushered in the civil rights / Black power movement, the feminist movement and the greatest anti-war movement in American history. Pats may not claim those, but I certainly do — and you’re denigrating them. Members of each generation supported Trump and helped to usher in “the sorry state of affairs” including yours.
Frank, sadly the younger generations though are becoming brainwashed by “yimbyism”, even Obama (a man I proudly voted for twice) is a “YIMBY”, just look at this article from cnn:
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/14/politics/obama-democrats-message
He blames our problems on “zoning”?! And it being hard to build?! EVEN zohran mamdani believes in the disproven “upzoning”
To Mateo, the younger generations may actually be the most brainwashed because of YIMBYS and building, when my grandson told me he would be fine living next to a 10 unit building next to our single family home, I knew we are screwed.
I take nothing away from those storied accomplishments, the bloody struggle they represent and I did nothing to denigrate them in anyway.
Get real, rent was dirt cheap, so was the cost of living and college was inexpensive and many cases free. At 18 you could leave your home and rent an apartment working part-time.
Comments that marginalize the younger generations aren’t doing anyone any good and anything going on today is not their fault. Why not impart your wisdom of community organizing with them, give them the tools that you know were effective so they can push back? Why not use your publications in the same manner independent publications and coffee shops that played such an important role in bringing people of many different communities together to coordinate and protest against Nixon and Vietnam?
Your generation and mine, had numerous opportunities of super majorities that could have codified a lot of the above mentioned civil rights victories but didn’t. Didn’t codify Roe because Dems could fundraise from it. Didn’t codify the voting rights act because there was no money in it for them and key pieces have now been dismantled. ERA never got a vote, still hasn’t even ceiling breakers Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein took no action. Many of those victories you’ve mentioned have now been wholly eradicated or neutralized.
Blaming each other ain’t bringin unity. Might turn out to be a swell idea to want to open up the tent to include the largest voting block in American history. Jus sayin.
Hmmm, and I thought the sad state of ADU and Ash St affairs was by the Toad backdoor redevelopment team supported by the construction industry. An obvious source of voting with the pocketbook. Seems a bit misguided to pigeonhole all boomers, don’t you think, let alone the ones here that don’t support Toad and this council? Plenty of blame across the spectrum in all walks of life.
Kate,
Thank you for another well written, spot-on article.
In regards the 101 Ash Street building –
As a structural engineer, I can tell you that retrofitting a mid-century office building is rarely cost-effective. Just the addition of plumbing infrastructure required to convert such an office building and then tailoring it into residential units is enough to tip the scale in favor of building new. In fact, starting from scratch (demo included) would likely result in a superior, more efficient structure for less money.
But sadly, that’s not how this administration operates. Their approach has long been rooted in political horse-trading, layered with cover-ups of prior missteps. This isn’t about smart planning, it’s about salvaging a bad decision, regardless of cost or consequence.
It’s also well known in real estate and development circles that SDG&E made a calculated decision years ago to abandon 101 Ash and instead acquire new land, design, and construct a new headquarters. Why? Because the costs and risks of renovation – especially in a building riddled with asbestos – were simply too high. Every minor upgrade would trigger expensive asbestos testing and abatement, not to mention a total overhaul of the electrical, HVAC, and plumbing systems (domestic water supply, drainage waste and vent, and fire sprinklers).
And if the city were to change the building’s use (as they do intend), the structural system would almost certainly fall short of today’s seismic standards, necessitating costly retrofits just to make it safe.
The bottom line is this: 101 Ash Street outlived its useful life over 15 years ago. It is not a candidate for repurposing – at least not without spending far more than what a brand-new building would cost.
Clearly, 101 Ash Street has outlived its service life for at least a decade and a half. The remark that it just needed $10,000 power wash was always a ridiculous statement by Gloria when he pushed for the lease-to-own deal several years back.
Will the taxpaying citizens of San Diego have any hope witnessing any sort of competence, transparency, and accountability – none of which have been on display throughout this fiasco?
“… when my grandson told me he would be fine living next to a 10 unit building next to our single family home, I knew we are screwed.” Because he did not work a lifetime for it, and none of his blood, sweat and tears went into it. It was not his dream. He has not been tasked with the responsibility of putting a roof over a child’s head. Millennials don’t have a handle on that because it’s out of reach, they want to be “influencers” and have “experiences”. I can’t imagine what their retirement years will look like. Really. Someone should ask them what their plans are. Probably live in an RV at Mission Bay Park.
You are right. When we bought our house, I had to borrow $20. to close escrow. I had to clean out the “change drawer” in my dresser. I took this cash to the escrow office, and we are still here. Recently, we went out for breakfast (other people were having brunch), and saw the two young couples next to us pay $200 total (including mimosas), as we heard them bitterly complaining about the costs of housing. They grew up having their parents (us) provide it. They are the entitled generation.
Yes, nostalgia, you and I didn’t have a choice. To survive we had to manage our money and not overspend. We understood that in order to buy a car buy a house, go to school we had to be careful how we spent what we earned. Entitlement was not a thing, nor did our parents have the money to support us in the way that many Young people are supported today. This thread in the rag showcases the attitude of some people who are under 40. Perception is reality. If you perceive your home environment, community, country. as the cause of your problems, then you have a large target to blame. It’s not your fault., And there is some truth in that statement however, how did we get here? How did it become impossible to buy a home ? Did that just happen? I would encourage the young people who are looking to blame someone to study the San Diego housing market. If you do that, you will see that the problem we face all throughout California has to do with politics. We elect people, we put our trust in people. These people, our mayor and 9 council members, have literally created affordable housing shortages. It is so blatant that it looks contrived !! If you look closely, you will see that the laws at the state and local levels promote big, financial corporations, big builders, and big government. The equity driven philosophy, shames people with single-family homes , blames American capitalism for an out of control cost of living and suggests that the solution is to create tiny spaces in tall buildings. In order for people to buy into this new way of life, government and media use guilt and shame to change the way we think, to suggest that the American dream of a home and a piece of land is a privileged posture. Meanwhile, this government erases, eradicates, environmental laws, coastal zone laws, parking requirement laws. This government in San Diego and frankly in California, creates new laws based on a theory that if we have high density housing, the homeless population will disappear and we will have affordable housing. That is the lie that they promote in order to get ‘good’ citizens to follow their lead. Unless we look at the “design “of the lawmakers and understand their philosophical bias against single-family homes , we will lose the battle and the war.
Shocking the level of transparency with the trash fees. Do as I say, not as I do says Elo-Rivera.
https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2025/07/15/san-diego-rent-utilities-landlords-cost-of-living/
Spot on.
This should have been in a trash story, sorry.