Zoning in San Diego City/County

[XBoxBoy]

Not sure this will qualify as common-sense, but the city zoning codes can be found here:

http://docs.sandiego.gov/municode/MuniCodeChapter13/Ch13Art01Division04.pdf

Also helpful are the maps which let you see what a specific parcel is zoned as.

http://www.sandiego.gov/development-services/zoning/zoninggridmap.shtml

First use the map to 1) identify the zone code of the property you are interested in, and then 2) look into the codes to determine the setbacks, height restrictions, maximum percent of lot coverage, etc.

That should give you a general idea if you will be allowed to build. But I would also echo what Russell said, that just because the zoning allows it, doesn’t mean that it will work, so be careful out there.

XBoxBoy

[UCGal]

I can comment with some expertise on companion units in San Diego City limits. We are one of the VERY few who have successfully gotten a permit and occupancy for one. (My in-laws moved in this past fall.)

The process is very kafka-esque.

First – your lot has to be double the “nominal” size for your neighborhood. South University City has a 5000 minimum lot size and our lot size, being on a canyon, is just over 10,000. They will not consider a permit application for a CU unless you meet this requirement. It is their first “weed out” denial..

Second – you have to have parking for the CU – and your primary house has to provide the proper dimensions for “street wall”. In our case, we were a few inches short, but were able to negotiate rather than go to extreme measures to meet this requirement. The “street wall” requirement means that you have to have the width between the front side of your house and the side property line – and there has to be space in that width – in front of the primary house. If your primary house is on a narrow lot, or if you have the width on the wrong side of the house – this can present issues.
(We had the witdth on the non-curb-cut side – and if they hadn’t given us a compromise we would have had to remove our front landscaping to provide access to the non-curb side for the parking… and FWIW, my in-laws don’t drive so it would have been for NO purpose.)

– The CU has to go on the back 1/3 of the lot. In our case this meant doing some hillside work. (Big grading/retaining walls.) This added a LOT to our costs.

If you are looking for a place to purchase that will meet the requirements – look for larger lot (most of San Diego will qualify with a 10k sf lot.)
Look for how the side year and front of the house works for the street wall wierdness. Look for a level lot.

[UCGal]

I can comment with some expertise on companion units in San Diego City limits. We are one of the VERY few who have successfully gotten a permit and occupancy for one. (My in-laws moved in this past fall.)

The process is very kafka-esque.

First – your lot has to be double the “nominal” size for your neighborhood. South University City has a 5000 minimum lot size and our lot size, being on a canyon, is just over 10,000. They will not consider a permit application for a CU unless you meet this requirement. It is their first “weed out” denial..

Second – you have to have parking for the CU – and your primary house has to provide the proper dimensions for “street wall”. In our case, we were a few inches short, but were able to negotiate rather than go to extreme measures to meet this requirement. The “street wall” requirement means that you have to have the width between the front side of your house and the side property line – and there has to be space in that width – in front of the primary house. If your primary house is on a narrow lot, or if you have the width on the wrong side of the house – this can present issues.
(We had the witdth on the non-curb-cut side – and if they hadn’t given us a compromise we would have had to remove our front landscaping to provide access to the non-curb side for the parking… and FWIW, my in-laws don’t drive so it would have been for NO purpose.)

– The CU has to go on the back 1/3 of the lot. In our case this meant doing some hillside work. (Big grading/retaining walls.) This added a LOT to our costs.

If you are looking for a place to purchase that will meet the requirements – look for larger lot (most of San Diego will qualify with a 10k sf lot.)
Look for how the side year and front of the house works for the street wall wierdness. Look for a level lot.

[UCGal]

I can comment with some expertise on companion units in San Diego City limits. We are one of the VERY few who have successfully gotten a permit and occupancy for one. (My in-laws moved in this past fall.)

The process is very kafka-esque.

First – your lot has to be double the “nominal” size for your neighborhood. South University City has a 5000 minimum lot size and our lot size, being on a canyon, is just over 10,000. They will not consider a permit application for a CU unless you meet this requirement. It is their first “weed out” denial..

Second – you have to have parking for the CU – and your primary house has to provide the proper dimensions for “street wall”. In our case, we were a few inches short, but were able to negotiate rather than go to extreme measures to meet this requirement. The “street wall” requirement means that you have to have the width between the front side of your house and the side property line – and there has to be space in that width – in front of the primary house. If your primary house is on a narrow lot, or if you have the width on the wrong side of the house – this can present issues.
(We had the witdth on the non-curb-cut side – and if they hadn’t given us a compromise we would have had to remove our front landscaping to provide access to the non-curb side for the parking… and FWIW, my in-laws don’t drive so it would have been for NO purpose.)

– The CU has to go on the back 1/3 of the lot. In our case this meant doing some hillside work. (Big grading/retaining walls.) This added a LOT to our costs.

If you are looking for a place to purchase that will meet the requirements – look for larger lot (most of San Diego will qualify with a 10k sf lot.)
Look for how the side year and front of the house works for the street wall wierdness. Look for a level lot.

[UCGal]

I can comment with some expertise on companion units in San Diego City limits. We are one of the VERY few who have successfully gotten a permit and occupancy for one. (My in-laws moved in this past fall.)

The process is very kafka-esque.

First – your lot has to be double the “nominal” size for your neighborhood. South University City has a 5000 minimum lot size and our lot size, being on a canyon, is just over 10,000. They will not consider a permit application for a CU unless you meet this requirement. It is their first “weed out” denial..

Second – you have to have parking for the CU – and your primary house has to provide the proper dimensions for “street wall”. In our case, we were a few inches short, but were able to negotiate rather than go to extreme measures to meet this requirement. The “street wall” requirement means that you have to have the width between the front side of your house and the side property line – and there has to be space in that width – in front of the primary house. If your primary house is on a narrow lot, or if you have the width on the wrong side of the house – this can present issues.
(We had the witdth on the non-curb-cut side – and if they hadn’t given us a compromise we would have had to remove our front landscaping to provide access to the non-curb side for the parking… and FWIW, my in-laws don’t drive so it would have been for NO purpose.)

– The CU has to go on the back 1/3 of the lot. In our case this meant doing some hillside work. (Big grading/retaining walls.) This added a LOT to our costs.

If you are looking for a place to purchase that will meet the requirements – look for larger lot (most of San Diego will qualify with a 10k sf lot.)
Look for how the side year and front of the house works for the street wall wierdness. Look for a level lot.

[UCGal]

I can comment with some expertise on companion units in San Diego City limits. We are one of the VERY few who have successfully gotten a permit and occupancy for one. (My in-laws moved in this past fall.)

The process is very kafka-esque.

First – your lot has to be double the “nominal” size for your neighborhood. South University City has a 5000 minimum lot size and our lot size, being on a canyon, is just over 10,000. They will not consider a permit application for a CU unless you meet this requirement. It is their first “weed out” denial..

Second – you have to have parking for the CU – and your primary house has to provide the proper dimensions for “street wall”. In our case, we were a few inches short, but were able to negotiate rather than go to extreme measures to meet this requirement. The “street wall” requirement means that you have to have the width between the front side of your house and the side property line – and there has to be space in that width – in front of the primary house. If your primary house is on a narrow lot, or if you have the width on the wrong side of the house – this can present issues.
(We had the witdth on the non-curb-cut side – and if they hadn’t given us a compromise we would have had to remove our front landscaping to provide access to the non-curb side for the parking… and FWIW, my in-laws don’t drive so it would have been for NO purpose.)

– The CU has to go on the back 1/3 of the lot. In our case this meant doing some hillside work. (Big grading/retaining walls.) This added a LOT to our costs.

If you are looking for a place to purchase that will meet the requirements – look for larger lot (most of San Diego will qualify with a 10k sf lot.)
Look for how the side year and front of the house works for the street wall wierdness. Look for a level lot.

[UCGal]

OH – and while we were doing our research/getting the permits my husband discovered that Chula Vista is the opposite of San Diego – they encourage them… even waiving the permit fee if you pick pre-approved plans for your granny flat.

San Diego does NOT like companion units. Persistance is everything.

[UCGal]

OH – and while we were doing our research/getting the permits my husband discovered that Chula Vista is the opposite of San Diego – they encourage them… even waiving the permit fee if you pick pre-approved plans for your granny flat.

San Diego does NOT like companion units. Persistance is everything.

[UCGal]

OH – and while we were doing our research/getting the permits my husband discovered that Chula Vista is the opposite of San Diego – they encourage them… even waiving the permit fee if you pick pre-approved plans for your granny flat.

San Diego does NOT like companion units. Persistance is everything.

[UCGal]

OH – and while we were doing our research/getting the permits my husband discovered that Chula Vista is the opposite of San Diego – they encourage them… even waiving the permit fee if you pick pre-approved plans for your granny flat.

San Diego does NOT like companion units. Persistance is everything.

[UCGal]

OH – and while we were doing our research/getting the permits my husband discovered that Chula Vista is the opposite of San Diego – they encourage them… even waiving the permit fee if you pick pre-approved plans for your granny flat.

San Diego does NOT like companion units. Persistance is everything.

[UCGal]

I just thought of a couple of other restrictions on companion units in the city of San Diego…

Max sf of the unit is 700sf.

Owner must occupy one of the two units. (Primary or CU). In other words – you can’t rent both the primary house and the companion unit – owner must occupy one of the two.

If you are designing it with handicapped features (accessible bathroom, wheelchair ramps, etc.) then that portion is NOT included in your property tax assessment for the CU.

To get some of the politics behind the city’s dislike of CU
http://www.friendsofsdarch.com/SanDiegoaduleg.htm

At the time our permit was approved, only 5 applicants had made it past the first weed out phase in the previous 5 years. (They won’t consider your application till you show the double lot.) We, as far as I know, are one of only 2 permits issued in the past 5 years. And when we got this information, we’re the only ones who completed the companion unit. The link above shows only 18 CU’s had been approved between 1984 and 2003.

[UCGal]

I just thought of a couple of other restrictions on companion units in the city of San Diego…

Max sf of the unit is 700sf.

Owner must occupy one of the two units. (Primary or CU). In other words – you can’t rent both the primary house and the companion unit – owner must occupy one of the two.

If you are designing it with handicapped features (accessible bathroom, wheelchair ramps, etc.) then that portion is NOT included in your property tax assessment for the CU.

To get some of the politics behind the city’s dislike of CU
http://www.friendsofsdarch.com/SanDiegoaduleg.htm

At the time our permit was approved, only 5 applicants had made it past the first weed out phase in the previous 5 years. (They won’t consider your application till you show the double lot.) We, as far as I know, are one of only 2 permits issued in the past 5 years. And when we got this information, we’re the only ones who completed the companion unit. The link above shows only 18 CU’s had been approved between 1984 and 2003.

[UCGal]

I just thought of a couple of other restrictions on companion units in the city of San Diego…

Max sf of the unit is 700sf.

Owner must occupy one of the two units. (Primary or CU). In other words – you can’t rent both the primary house and the companion unit – owner must occupy one of the two.

If you are designing it with handicapped features (accessible bathroom, wheelchair ramps, etc.) then that portion is NOT included in your property tax assessment for the CU.

To get some of the politics behind the city’s dislike of CU
http://www.friendsofsdarch.com/SanDiegoaduleg.htm

At the time our permit was approved, only 5 applicants had made it past the first weed out phase in the previous 5 years. (They won’t consider your application till you show the double lot.) We, as far as I know, are one of only 2 permits issued in the past 5 years. And when we got this information, we’re the only ones who completed the companion unit. The link above shows only 18 CU’s had been approved between 1984 and 2003.

[UCGal]

I just thought of a couple of other restrictions on companion units in the city of San Diego…

Max sf of the unit is 700sf.

Owner must occupy one of the two units. (Primary or CU). In other words – you can’t rent both the primary house and the companion unit – owner must occupy one of the two.

If you are designing it with handicapped features (accessible bathroom, wheelchair ramps, etc.) then that portion is NOT included in your property tax assessment for the CU.

To get some of the politics behind the city’s dislike of CU
http://www.friendsofsdarch.com/SanDiegoaduleg.htm

At the time our permit was approved, only 5 applicants had made it past the first weed out phase in the previous 5 years. (They won’t consider your application till you show the double lot.) We, as far as I know, are one of only 2 permits issued in the past 5 years. And when we got this information, we’re the only ones who completed the companion unit. The link above shows only 18 CU’s had been approved between 1984 and 2003.

[Author]

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