[quote]I disagree that “exurb” housing is primarily “low-density,” Eugene. In the SD County “exurbs”, the vast majority of =<3000 sf SFR's are built on substandard lots (<5000 sf), are encumbered with an HOA and also usually CFD(s). The vast majority of 30+ yr old houses in SD County sit on bigger lots and have far more desirable locations than those built in the "exurbs" in the last 15 years.[/quote]
Strictly speaking, I would consider even a standard SFR on a 5000 sf lot "low density". Since that's immensely less dense than even building 3-story apartment buildings, let alone downtown-type high-rises.
That said, I think that you misunderstood my statement.
We filled all land _here_in_San_Diego_ with low density housing. Out here in North County, there's an enormous amount of space zoned 1-2 acres & up per dwelling. Valley Center and Bonsall together take 43 square miles (27,520 acres = enough room for something like 200,000 SFRs at typical density). If all this land were vacant, we'd have enough land left over to accommodate future development for decades ahead. But it's not vacant, it's built out at 2 acres per dwelling, total population between the two is somewhere around 12,000, and there's massive red tape involved in rezoning even a single lot to high density.
And, since there's no buildable land left here, people create demand for exurbs.
Also, 4S Ranch and Ramona are NOT exurbs of San Diego. The two primary exurbs of San Diego are Temecula and Murrieta. To a lesser extent, further outlying cities such as Lake Elsinore and maybe even Hemet.
