Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
UCGal
ParticipantYes the total sf matters. Unless you have a large part of it closed off to HVAC you are paying to heat/cool 5500 sf.
What is your insulation/window quality? Do you have a lot of insulation? Do you have double pane or thermal windows? If it’s new construction you’ll meet current title 24. But if it’s older, there’s probably a lot of places you could invest to reduce your energy bill.
Also 3 fridges… Could you move some of the beverages from the beverage fridge to the regular fridge – so that only one fridge gets open/closed a lot?
We’ve knocked about $10/month off of our bill by changing our habits with respect to power plugs for various devices – cell phones, kids NDS’s, etc… We only plug in the charge when it’s in use. (We used to leave it plugged in – but disconnected from the device when not charging.) We also unplugged the things that don’t get daily use but in their “off state” where really on, waiting for the remote signal… this included our dvd players, one of our stereos, the kids wii. (I only let them play it on the weekend for homework reasons. I’m a mean mom.)
ParticipantYes the total sf matters. Unless you have a large part of it closed off to HVAC you are paying to heat/cool 5500 sf.
What is your insulation/window quality? Do you have a lot of insulation? Do you have double pane or thermal windows? If it’s new construction you’ll meet current title 24. But if it’s older, there’s probably a lot of places you could invest to reduce your energy bill.
Also 3 fridges… Could you move some of the beverages from the beverage fridge to the regular fridge – so that only one fridge gets open/closed a lot?
We’ve knocked about $10/month off of our bill by changing our habits with respect to power plugs for various devices – cell phones, kids NDS’s, etc… We only plug in the charge when it’s in use. (We used to leave it plugged in – but disconnected from the device when not charging.) We also unplugged the things that don’t get daily use but in their “off state” where really on, waiting for the remote signal… this included our dvd players, one of our stereos, the kids wii. (I only let them play it on the weekend for homework reasons. I’m a mean mom.)
ParticipantOH – 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.
ParticipantOH – 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.
ParticipantOH – 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.
ParticipantOH – 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.
ParticipantOH – 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.
ParticipantI 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.ParticipantI 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.ParticipantI 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.ParticipantI 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.ParticipantI 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.ParticipantTemecula isn’t close to the ocean or mountains if you don’t have a car.
ParticipantTemecula isn’t close to the ocean or mountains if you don’t have a car.
-
AuthorPosts
