Why the SB 79 Pathway Says "Draft" — and What Will Change When SANDAG Publishes

SB 79 (chaptered October 2025, effective July 1, 2026) sets by-right state-preemption development standards on parcels within ½ mile of a qualifying Transit-Oriented Development stop. Two things determine whether a parcel qualifies:

1. Whether the stop itself qualifies as a TOD stop under the bill's tier definitions.
2. Whether the parcel falls inside the ½-mile buffer around that stop.

Both questions are mapped, and the map's authority matters for entitlement.

Who is supposed to publish the official map

SB 79 directs each Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) — the regional planning body for its area — to publish a tiered TOD map. For the San Diego region, that is SANDAG (San Diego Association of Governments).

As of this article's publication, SANDAG has not yet published its official SB 79 map. The calculator monitors sandag.org and opendata.sandag.org for it.

What the calculator uses today

In the absence of SANDAG's official map, the most authoritative available source is the City of San Diego Planning Department's SB 79 Implementation map. This is the map the City references on its SB 79 page, and it reflects HCD's "SB 79 Advisory Clarifications on Definitions for Metropolitan Planning Organizations" published March 20, 2026.

The City publishes the underlying data as a layer on its public ArcGIS server, with the parcel-level standards (density, FAR, height) pre-computed. The calculator queries this layer by APN. The layer is currently tagged "Draft" by the City — it has not been finalized as a regulatory map, and the City may continue to update it as HCD issues further advisories or as SANDAG publishes.

The calculator surfaces this status everywhere SB 79 standards appear:

• An amber data-source caveat at the top of the SB 79 pathway card.
• A footnote in the report footer recording the source name, retrieval date, and status.
• A Risks & Caveats flag on every SB 79 pathway result.

What does NOT count as authoritative

Several other SB 79 maps circulate publicly. The calculator does not use them, and developers shouldn't rely on them for entitlement decisions:

• UCSD CHPD (Center for Housing Policy and Design) — academic mapping; useful for analysis but not regulatory.
• BuildSD, NFABSD — advocacy organizations; their maps reflect interpretive choices not necessarily aligned with HCD or the City.

What changes when SANDAG publishes

When SANDAG ships its official SB 79 map, the calculator will swap data sources. The architecture is built around this swap — a single configuration entry in src/lib/gis/sources.ts controls the URL, attribution, and parser. Other code in the calculator does not need to change.

After the swap, the SB 79 cards will read:

• "SANDAG SB 79 TOD Map (authoritative)" instead of "City of San Diego Planning Department — SB 79 Implementation Map (draft)".
• The data-source band's tone shifts from amber-cautionary to neutral.
• The retrieval date updates.

If SANDAG's tier classifications differ from the City's for a given stop (which would mean different SB 79 standards for parcels in that stop's ½-mile zone), the calculator's outputs for those parcels will change. The previous analysis remains accessible in your saved analyses with its original source attribution stamped — so you can compare what the City said vs. what SANDAG ultimately said.

What changes when the City adopts a phasing ordinance

SB 79 also allows local agencies to adopt a phasing ordinance or TOD Alternative Plan that delays SB 79's application to specific parcels, typically in fire hazard severity zones, historic districts, or sea-level-rise overlays. The City of San Diego is reportedly considering such an ordinance.

When the City adopts one, parcel-level effective dates become part of the data layer. The calculator's data model already accommodates this:

• The pathway card will show "Effective [parcel-specific date]" instead of the statutory July 1, 2026 floor.
• A flag will surface the phasing reason ("VHFHSZ", "historic", etc.).
• The "By-right under SB 79" framing only applies once the parcel-specific date arrives.

What developers should do today

1. Treat SB 79 outputs as planning-grade, not entitlement-grade, until SANDAG publishes.
2. Verify with City of San Diego Planning for any specific parcel decision — the City is the entity actually accepting SB 79 applications.
3. Watch for the source swap. When SANDAG publishes, the calculator's footnotes will tell you so directly. If your project hinges on SB 79 eligibility, that's the moment to re-run a refresh against an authoritative source before locking entitlement strategy.