How it works
The platform was built to solve a specific problem: determining what you can actually develop on a San Diego parcel has become genuinely difficult — not because people aren't trying, but because the regulatory system is that complex. The pages below walk through what the tool does, who it's built for, how an analysis runs, and what makes it different from general-purpose feasibility software.
The platform
Enter an address and the platform pulls zoning, overlay designations, and site conditions from public GIS services in real time, then applies every currently-applicable pathway to the parcel. The results page presents them side by side so unit yields, affordability commitments, and the audit math behind each number can be compared directly.
What every analysis covers
Beyond pathway unit counts, each analysis factors in the overlay designations and site conditions that actually shape what's buildable:
Developers
You're screening deals constantly — Mid-City infill sites, North Park rowhouse opportunities, transit-adjacent parcels in Hillcrest, City Heights, and along the Blue Line. Every hour spent waiting for a feasibility analysis is an hour your competition might move first. Get instant unit counts across every applicable development pathway — base zoning, State Density Bonus, Complete Communities, ADU stacking, SB-1211 — so you can decide in minutes whether a parcel is worth pursuing. Run as many properties as you need, as fast as you need them.
Architects
Your clients expect you to know the San Diego entitlement landscape before the first meeting — Complete Communities tier, Coastal Overlay implications, ALUCP safety zone constraints, whether the parcel qualifies for the §65915(e) height waiver. Walk in already knowing what's possible — unit counts, bonus eligibility, affordability requirements, layout-aware yield — so the conversation starts at strategy, not discovery. Use it to scope projects accurately, set client expectations early, and demonstrate the kind of regulatory fluency that sets a San Diego practice apart.
Real Estate Professionals
Development yield is one of the most valuable — and most misunderstood — factors in San Diego land pricing, especially for transit-adjacent parcels with density-bonus upside, RM-zoned lots eligible for SB-1211 ADUs, and corridor sites in Complete Communities Focus Areas. Know how many units a parcel can support under current regulations before you list it, so you can price accurately, attract the right buyers, and close with confidence. Stop leaving value on the table.
01
Zoning, overlay designations, and site conditions are pulled from public GIS services in real time — no manual data entry, no spreadsheet lookup.
02
Base Zoning MDUs with state-mandated ADUs, the Affordable Density Bonus (with AB 1287 moderate-income stacking), the Micro-Unit Density Bonus, Complete Communities Housing Solutions, the ADU Home Density Bonus, a stacked Affordable + ADU Home combination using the City's Realistic Development Capacity method, SB-1211 multifamily ADUs, and SB 79 transit-oriented development. Each pathway runs independently and is reported with its own audit trail.
03
The results page shows every eligible pathway alongside its unit count, affordability commitment, and the math behind the number. Ineligible pathways are listed with the specific reason — not buried.
04
Stories, average unit size, efficiency factor, lot coverage, parking type, preserved-unit count, and the affordability tier for each pathway that supports one (VLI / LI / MI, or the four Complete Communities options) are all editable on the results page. Change any input and every pathway recalculates.
05
An AI assistant grounded in the San Diego Municipal Code sits beside every analysis. It answers parcel-specific questions about why a pathway yielded what it did, what would happen if an input changed, or which SDMC sections govern a particular regulation. Every answer cites the underlying code and ends with a verification reminder. AI answers are informational only — not a substitute for review by the City of San Diego Development Services Department or a licensed professional.
San Diego, specifically
Most feasibility analysis tools are general-purpose — they let you specify a density and FAR and compute yield. San Diego's development regulations don't operate that way. Base zoning sets a floor, but state density bonus law can override it. Overlay zones modify both. ADU rules layer on top. Complete Communities offers yet another pathway, governed by its own FAR-based framework. Getting it right requires synthesizing dozens of interacting rules simultaneously. The platform encodes those interactions for every San Diego zone and every modeled pathway under California state housing law — State Density Bonus Law (with AB 1287 stacking), SB 79, SB-1211 multifamily ADUs, and others — so the output is a real San Diego answer, not a generic estimate. See the Coverage card on the homepage for the full modeled set.
Citable to source
Every regulation modeled in the calculator is documented on the Regulations page with its SDMC section number, effective date, and a plain-language summary. The audit panel on every result links to those entries. When a pathway yields a specific number, the underlying rule and its citation are one click away — useful for internal review, due diligence, and regulator-facing documentation. See the regulations index →
Maintained against current law
California's housing laws change every legislative session. San Diego's local code is updated regularly. The platform is maintained to reflect current law — when new legislation takes effect or local regulations are amended, the analysis engine is updated. Upcoming changes are tracked as they move through the legislature; when SB-79 takes effect on July 1, 2026, for example, its per-parcel eligibility will be added to the pathway stack once the authoritative transit-overlay map is published by SANDAG and California HCD.
Built by people who do the work
The platform is built by a San Diego–based independent software company focused on tools for the development industry. The team includes Matt Stowe, AIA — a California-licensed architect with multifamily entitlement experience in San Diego. The regulations modeled here are the same ones navigated on real projects, not summarized from secondary sources.