Zoning in San Diego City/County

[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.

[NotCranky]

In the city you also have the option of finding a property zoned Multi-family. The density in the area is likely to be pretty high. I haven’t made a thorough survey of where they all are, but I know some still aren’t completely built out.

I am currently building what the County of San Diego calls a “secondary dwelling unit”. Either my main house or the smaller one can be rented as long as the owner lives in one of them. I had to record a statement saying that I would comply and it applies to future owners. It can be up to 30% of the size of the “primary dwelling” or 50% with an expensive and certain to be problematic variance process. The maximum under any situation is 1200 sqft. My lot is big, so the ground water restrictions had the potential to be most limiting factor.
Properties where this can be done are in the rural and semi-rural areas that fall under County of San Diego administrative authority.

In case anyone doesn’t already know, second houses , even legal rentals, don’t normally increase equity much so this probably shouldn’t be a motivating factor to build one. It could easily end up being a break even project, or worse.

[NotCranky]

In the city you also have the option of finding a property zoned Multi-family. The density in the area is likely to be pretty high. I haven’t made a thorough survey of where they all are, but I know some still aren’t completely built out.

I am currently building what the County of San Diego calls a “secondary dwelling unit”. Either my main house or the smaller one can be rented as long as the owner lives in one of them. I had to record a statement saying that I would comply and it applies to future owners. It can be up to 30% of the size of the “primary dwelling” or 50% with an expensive and certain to be problematic variance process. The maximum under any situation is 1200 sqft. My lot is big, so the ground water restrictions had the potential to be most limiting factor.
Properties where this can be done are in the rural and semi-rural areas that fall under County of San Diego administrative authority.

In case anyone doesn’t already know, second houses , even legal rentals, don’t normally increase equity much so this probably shouldn’t be a motivating factor to build one. It could easily end up being a break even project, or worse.

[NotCranky]

In the city you also have the option of finding a property zoned Multi-family. The density in the area is likely to be pretty high. I haven’t made a thorough survey of where they all are, but I know some still aren’t completely built out.

I am currently building what the County of San Diego calls a “secondary dwelling unit”. Either my main house or the smaller one can be rented as long as the owner lives in one of them. I had to record a statement saying that I would comply and it applies to future owners. It can be up to 30% of the size of the “primary dwelling” or 50% with an expensive and certain to be problematic variance process. The maximum under any situation is 1200 sqft. My lot is big, so the ground water restrictions had the potential to be most limiting factor.
Properties where this can be done are in the rural and semi-rural areas that fall under County of San Diego administrative authority.

In case anyone doesn’t already know, second houses , even legal rentals, don’t normally increase equity much so this probably shouldn’t be a motivating factor to build one. It could easily end up being a break even project, or worse.

[NotCranky]

In the city you also have the option of finding a property zoned Multi-family. The density in the area is likely to be pretty high. I haven’t made a thorough survey of where they all are, but I know some still aren’t completely built out.

I am currently building what the County of San Diego calls a “secondary dwelling unit”. Either my main house or the smaller one can be rented as long as the owner lives in one of them. I had to record a statement saying that I would comply and it applies to future owners. It can be up to 30% of the size of the “primary dwelling” or 50% with an expensive and certain to be problematic variance process. The maximum under any situation is 1200 sqft. My lot is big, so the ground water restrictions had the potential to be most limiting factor.
Properties where this can be done are in the rural and semi-rural areas that fall under County of San Diego administrative authority.

In case anyone doesn’t already know, second houses , even legal rentals, don’t normally increase equity much so this probably shouldn’t be a motivating factor to build one. It could easily end up being a break even project, or worse.

[NotCranky]

In the city you also have the option of finding a property zoned Multi-family. The density in the area is likely to be pretty high. I haven’t made a thorough survey of where they all are, but I know some still aren’t completely built out.

I am currently building what the County of San Diego calls a “secondary dwelling unit”. Either my main house or the smaller one can be rented as long as the owner lives in one of them. I had to record a statement saying that I would comply and it applies to future owners. It can be up to 30% of the size of the “primary dwelling” or 50% with an expensive and certain to be problematic variance process. The maximum under any situation is 1200 sqft. My lot is big, so the ground water restrictions had the potential to be most limiting factor.
Properties where this can be done are in the rural and semi-rural areas that fall under County of San Diego administrative authority.

In case anyone doesn’t already know, second houses , even legal rentals, don’t normally increase equity much so this probably shouldn’t be a motivating factor to build one. It could easily end up being a break even project, or worse.

[UCGal]

[quote=Russell]In case anyone doesn’t already know, second houses , even legal rentals, don’t normally increase equity much so this probably shouldn’t be a motivating factor to build one. It could easily end up being a break even project, or worse.
[/quote]

That is ABSOLUTELY correct. It is not a good idea for an investment. We did it because it was the appropriate solution for our family needs with aging parents. Our granny flat is being used for a granny and grandpa.

However, we figure this is cheaper than 3-4 years in an assisted living home. And my in-laws quality of life is much higher than that setting.

[UCGal]

[quote=Russell]In case anyone doesn’t already know, second houses , even legal rentals, don’t normally increase equity much so this probably shouldn’t be a motivating factor to build one. It could easily end up being a break even project, or worse.
[/quote]

That is ABSOLUTELY correct. It is not a good idea for an investment. We did it because it was the appropriate solution for our family needs with aging parents. Our granny flat is being used for a granny and grandpa.

However, we figure this is cheaper than 3-4 years in an assisted living home. And my in-laws quality of life is much higher than that setting.

[UCGal]

[quote=Russell]In case anyone doesn’t already know, second houses , even legal rentals, don’t normally increase equity much so this probably shouldn’t be a motivating factor to build one. It could easily end up being a break even project, or worse.
[/quote]

That is ABSOLUTELY correct. It is not a good idea for an investment. We did it because it was the appropriate solution for our family needs with aging parents. Our granny flat is being used for a granny and grandpa.

However, we figure this is cheaper than 3-4 years in an assisted living home. And my in-laws quality of life is much higher than that setting.

[UCGal]

[quote=Russell]In case anyone doesn’t already know, second houses , even legal rentals, don’t normally increase equity much so this probably shouldn’t be a motivating factor to build one. It could easily end up being a break even project, or worse.
[/quote]

That is ABSOLUTELY correct. It is not a good idea for an investment. We did it because it was the appropriate solution for our family needs with aging parents. Our granny flat is being used for a granny and grandpa.

However, we figure this is cheaper than 3-4 years in an assisted living home. And my in-laws quality of life is much higher than that setting.

[UCGal]

[quote=Russell]In case anyone doesn’t already know, second houses , even legal rentals, don’t normally increase equity much so this probably shouldn’t be a motivating factor to build one. It could easily end up being a break even project, or worse.
[/quote]

That is ABSOLUTELY correct. It is not a good idea for an investment. We did it because it was the appropriate solution for our family needs with aging parents. Our granny flat is being used for a granny and grandpa.

However, we figure this is cheaper than 3-4 years in an assisted living home. And my in-laws quality of life is much higher than that setting.

[Author]

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