This platform incorporates the full stack of San Diego and California housing regulations that determine what can be built on any given parcel. These regulations rarely operate in isolation — most projects layer multiple programs simultaneously, and the interaction between them is where significant development yield is unlocked. Here's what's under the hood.
Last updated: May 2026
State Law
City Programs
Overlay Zones
Regulatory Context
Pending Legislation
Base zoning refers to development that complies with all applicable zoning standards — use type, density, setbacks, height, parking, lot coverage — under the parcel's underlying zone, without invoking a density-bonus or other state-override program. Projects that fit base zoning are entitled to ministerial approval (the colloquial term is "by-right") without discretionary review or public hearings. The San Diego Municipal Code (SDMC) Chapter 13 defines the base zones and their associated development regulations, establishing what is allowed on any given parcel as a matter of right.
Any property owner or developer whose project fully conforms to the base zone standards, including permitted uses, dimensional limits, and applicable overlay requirements.
Base zoning establishes the floor of what's possible on a parcel. The residential base zones — RS (single-family), RM (multifamily), RX (mixed residential) — set the maximum density, height, and setbacks before any bonus programs are applied. The 2024 LDC Update (adopted July 2024, effective October 2024) included 99 amendments to citywide and downtown regulations, and a 2026 LDC Update with 136 additional amendments was advanced to City Council in March 2026.
California's Density Bonus Law (DBL), enacted in 1979 and repeatedly strengthened since, requires local governments to grant developers a density bonus — the right to exceed locally mandated density limits — when a project includes a specified percentage of affordable housing. The bonus can reach up to 50% above base density, along with additional incentives, concessions, and waivers of development standards.
Applicable to any housing development project that reserves a minimum share of units for income-qualified households: at least 5% for very-low-income, or 10% for low- or moderate-income households. AB 2694 (2024) expanded eligibility to include residential care facilities for the elderly.
In San Diego, the DBL is a foundational tool for unlocking additional unit count on infill sites. AB 1287 (effective January 1, 2024) added a second-tier bonus of up to 50% in exchange for additional very-low-income or moderate-income units — meaning a project can potentially double its base density by layering both bonus tiers. AB 2430 (2024) also prohibits local governments from charging monitoring fees on qualifying affordable projects. Government Code §65915(p) separately limits parking requirements for all qualifying density bonus projects: 100% affordable or senior housing projects within one-half mile of a major transit stop cannot be required to provide any parking, and all other qualifying projects are capped at 0.5 spaces per bedroom — regardless of what local zoning would otherwise require.
California state law requires all cities and counties to allow accessory dwelling units on any lot that includes or is proposed to include a residential use. ADUs are self-contained dwelling units — with their own kitchen, bathroom, and living space — built either attached to or detached from the primary residence. The state mandates ministerial (non-discretionary) approval and prohibits most local restrictions that would unduly limit ADU construction.
All residential property owners in California, including in San Diego. On single-family lots, owners may build one detached ADU of up to 1,200 sq ft and one Junior ADU (JADU) of up to 500 sq ft. Multifamily properties have expanded detached ADU rights under SB-1211 — see that entry below.
California's ADU laws have made ADUs one of the most accessible paths to adding housing in San Diego. AB 1332 (effective January 1, 2025) requires all cities to maintain pre-approved ADU plan programs, with 30-day approval timelines. AB 976 permanently removed the owner-occupancy requirement for rental ADUs. SB 543 (2025) requires applications to be reviewed for completeness within 15 business days and provides a 60-day appeal timeline. ADUs under 500 sq ft are exempt from school impact fees. State law also establishes default standards that guarantee minimum ADU rights on any residential lot regardless of local ordinance compliance — at least one ADU of up to 800 sq ft on single-family lots, and at least two detached ADUs on multifamily lots — providing a legal backstop when local rules would otherwise restrict construction.
SB 1211 expanded the number of detached ADUs permitted on lots with existing multifamily dwellings from 2 to up to 8, with the total capped at the number of existing dwelling units on the site. A property with 10 units may have up to 8 detached ADUs; a property with 3 units may have up to 3. The approval process is ministerial — no discretionary review or hearing is required. SB 1211 does not change the rules for proposed (not yet built) multifamily properties, which remain limited to 2 detached ADUs.
Owners of existing multifamily residential properties anywhere in California. The expanded ADU count applies only to detached ADUs added to lots with existing multifamily dwellings. SB 1211 also prohibits local agencies from requiring replacement parking when an uncovered parking space is demolished to accommodate an ADU — closing a loophole that some jurisdictions had used to slow ADU construction.
For San Diego multifamily property owners, SB 1211 significantly increases the unit yield potential of existing apartment and condo sites without requiring new entitlements. An 8-unit building in a Transit Priority Area could add up to 8 detached ADUs — doubling its unit count — subject only to ministerial review. Combined with the ADU Home Density Bonus, which allows additional market-rate ADUs in exchange for affordable ones, SB 1211 makes multifamily infill one of the most productive development strategies available under current law.
A Junior ADU is a unit of up to 500 sq ft located wholly within the existing or proposed footprint of a single-family home. JADUs may share bathrooms with the primary dwelling or have their own, and typically involve conversion of an existing bedroom or interior space. State law requires ministerial approval and prohibits local agencies from imposing standards that would effectively prevent JADU construction.
Owners of single-family properties. One JADU is allowed per single-family lot in addition to one ADU. JADUs must remain within the existing or proposed primary structure — they cannot be detached or newly constructed standalone units.
JADUs are a low-cost strategy for adding a unit in San Diego without building from scratch. A key 2025 change limits owner-occupancy requirements: local agencies may only impose such requirements on JADUs that share a bathroom with the primary unit — JADUs with their own bathroom are exempt. State law prohibits JADUs from being used as short-term rentals (under 30 days). JADUs under 500 sq ft are also exempt from school impact fees.
Senate Bill 9, the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency (HOME) Act, requires cities to ministerially approve duplexes on single-family lots and to allow urban lot splits — dividing one single-family lot into two. This removes the discretionary review that previously gave cities wide latitude to deny such projects, replacing it with objective, consistently applied ministerial approval.
Owners of single-family-zoned parcels in urban areas. Each resulting lot from a split must be at least 1,200 sq ft, and the smaller parcel must be at least 40% of the original lot area. Owners who split their lot must commit to occupying one of the resulting lots as their primary residence for at least three years. Properties in historic districts, high fire hazard zones, or on hazardous sites may be ineligible.
SB-9 theoretically enables up to four homes on what was previously a single-family lot (a duplex on each of two split parcels), plus applicable ADUs and JADUs on top. SB 450 (2024) strengthened the original law by clarifying local agency obligations, limiting additional discretionary conditions, and establishing 60-day review deadlines. In San Diego, SB-9 projects can be combined with ADU rights to maximize unit yield on constrained sites.
SB-79, signed by Governor Newsom in October 2025 and effective July 1, 2026, overrides local zoning to allow higher residential density near major transit stops in urban transit counties — defined as counties with more than 15 passenger rail stations. San Diego County qualifies. The bill establishes minimum height limits of 55–95 feet and minimum density of at least 30 units per acre, depending on proximity to and service quality of the nearest transit stop.
Projects with at least 5 dwelling units located near a qualifying 'transit-oriented development' (TOD) stop. Buildings over 85 feet in height must meet on-site affordable housing requirements and labor standards, including prevailing wage and skilled and trained workforce requirements. Projects may not be sited on land requiring demolition of rent-controlled or price-controlled housing.
SB-79 is a major upzoning that will significantly expand development yield near San Diego's trolley stations, commuter rail stops, and bus rapid transit corridors beginning mid-2026. Local governments may opt out of specific sites or adopt alternative TOD plans — but those alternatives must allow at least as much total development and must be approved by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
AB 2011, signed September 28, 2022 and in effect since July 1, 2023, allows CEQA-exempt, ministerial approval for qualifying residential development on commercially zoned land. It targets underutilized commercial corridors and strips as sites for new housing without requiring a general plan amendment or rezoning. Fully affordable projects may be approved anywhere on qualifying commercial land; mixed-income projects must be located along commercial corridors.
Developers proposing residential or mixed-use projects on commercially zoned sites. Fully affordable projects must make all units available to low-income households. Mixed-income rental projects must reserve 8% of units for very-low-income and 5% for extremely low-income households, or 15% for low-income households. All projects must meet labor standards including apprenticeship program requirements and health care expenditure requirements for workers.
In San Diego, AB 2011 opens significant acreage of commercially zoned land — strip malls, auto dealerships, underperforming retail — to ministerial housing approvals without discretionary review. Maximum height varies: 35 ft on corridors under 100 ft wide, 45 ft on wider corridors, and up to 65 ft for sites within a half-mile of a major transit stop. Projects cannot involve demolition of existing housing or historic structures, and are excluded from sites near freeways, refineries, or in high fire hazard zones. AB 130 (June 2025) interaction: AB 130 expanded the Permit Streamlining Act to housing development projects with new 60-day shot clocks (30-day for AB 130 CEQA-exempt projects). How these timelines layer on AB 2011's existing ministerial-approval framework is fact-dependent — the controlling deadline for a specific project may be AB 2011's bill-specific provisions, the new Permit Streamlining Act timeline, or whichever is shorter. Practitioners relying on a specific deadline should confirm with counsel.
AB 2097, signed September 22, 2022 and in effect since January 1, 2023, prohibits any public agency from imposing or enforcing minimum automobile parking requirements on residential, commercial, or other development projects located within one-half mile of a major transit stop. The prohibition applies regardless of the local zoning or general plan. EV charging and ADA-accessible parking requirements are unaffected.
All development projects within one-half mile of a qualifying major transit stop anywhere in California. A public agency may reinstate parking minimums only if it makes a specific finding that eliminating them would substantially harm its ability to meet its share of regional housing need for low- and very-low-income households, or its ability to meet special housing needs for elderly or disabled persons.
In San Diego's Transit Priority Areas — which overlap substantially with the half-mile transit radius — AB 2097 effectively eliminates parking minimums for the vast majority of new development. This reduces construction costs (structured parking typically costs $30,000–$80,000 per stall), increases buildable square footage, and enables higher unit counts on constrained urban infill sites. For projects using Complete Communities, the Density Bonus Law, or other bonus programs, AB 2097 compounds density gains by removing one of the most common physical constraints on unit yield.
SB-4, signed October 11, 2023 and effective January 1, 2024, requires local governments to ministerially approve 100% affordable housing developments on land owned by religious institutions or independent colleges — regardless of the parcel's current zoning or general plan designation. No rezoning, general plan amendment, conditional use permit, or CEQA review is required. Buildings may reach up to 200 feet in height where no local height limit applies, and local height limits may not reduce the allowable height below what would otherwise be permitted by the underlying zoning.
Developers, nonprofits, and affordable housing organizations partnering with qualifying religious institutions (churches, mosques, temples, synagogues, and similar) or nonprofit independent colleges that own the land. All units must be deed-restricted as affordable to lower-income households. Projects must meet objective design standards and labor requirements, including prevailing wage for projects of 50 or more units.
SB-4 unlocks a significant and largely underutilized land supply for affordable housing in San Diego — religious institutions and colleges hold substantial urban acreage, much of it in transit-accessible neighborhoods, that was previously locked into institutional zoning with no path to housing. A qualifying project can proceed directly to building permit without discretionary entitlement, dramatically reducing timeline and litigation risk. When combined with state and federal affordable housing financing tools (LIHTC, HCD programs, CDBG), SB-4 sites can achieve project viability that would be difficult on conventionally zoned infill land. San Diego County has several faith-based affordable housing projects in various stages of feasibility and entitlement under this law. AB 130 (June 2025) amendments: AB 130 modified SB-4's height and ancillary-use provisions. Specific changes to the 200-foot height ceiling, the where-no-local-limit-applies trigger, and the rules governing what non-residential uses qualify as ancillary are evolving and should be confirmed against current HCD guidance and statutory text before relying on the original SB-4 framework above.
San Diego's 100% Affordable Housing Density Bonus allows developments that deed-restrict all units as affordable to very-low, low, and/or moderate-income households — in any combination — to receive unlimited density within a Transit Priority Area. Unlike the state Density Bonus Law, which caps bonuses at 50% (or up to 100% with stacking), San Diego's local 100% affordable program removes the density ceiling entirely for qualifying all-affordable projects.
Developers proposing residential projects in which 100% of total dwelling units are deed-restricted as affordable to income-qualified households. Projects must be located within a Transit Priority Area. The program is available for rental or for-sale developments, including senior housing and housing for transitional populations.
For mission-driven developers, nonprofits, and public agencies pursuing all-affordable projects in San Diego's transit corridors, this program is the most powerful density tool available. Removing the unit count ceiling entirely allows project feasibility to be driven by site constraints, financing, and design — not by a regulatory cap. Combined with tax credit financing, land subsidies, and Complete Communities design standards, the 100% affordable bonus has enabled some of the densest affordable housing projects in San Diego's recent pipeline.
San Diego's Affordable Micro-Unit Density Bonus allows developments in Transit Priority Areas to achieve up to 100% bonus density when projects provide micro-units — dwellings averaging no more than 600 sq ft, with no individual unit exceeding 800 sq ft. The program is designed to produce compact, attainable units near transit while maximizing land efficiency.
Rental or for-sale mixed-income developments, senior housing developments, and housing for transitional foster youth, disabled veterans, or persons experiencing homelessness located within a Transit Priority Area (TPA). Projects must deed-restrict at least 5% of pre-density units to very-low-income households, or 10% to low-income, transitional foster youth, disabled veterans, or homeless persons — plus an additional 10% of pre-density bonus units to households earning up to 120% of AMI.
This program is one of San Diego's most powerful local density tools. In a Transit Priority Area, a base-zoning project can effectively double its unit count by committing to micro-unit sizing and income restrictions. All affordable units are locked in via an affordable housing agreement for 45–55 years, consistent with state Density Bonus Law timelines.
Complete Communities Housing Solutions (CCHS), adopted by San Diego City Council in December 2019, is an optional affordable housing incentive program allowing significantly denser housing near high-frequency transit. It overlays a floor area ratio (FAR) framework on top of base zoning in Transit Priority Areas, organized into four tiers: Tier 1 (no FAR cap), Tier 2 (8.0 FAR), Tier 3 (6.5 FAR), and Tier 4 (4.0 FAR), based on proximity to and quality of transit service.
Projects located within San Diego's designated Sustainable Development Areas that provide affordable housing at required income levels. Projects seeking the highest density tiers must satisfy affordability thresholds and design standards. Qualifying projects may also access expedited review as a 'Complete Communities Now' project under Executive Order 2024-1.
CCHS has become the primary vehicle for high-density infill housing in San Diego's urban core. In 2023, the city permitted nearly 10,000 housing units, and in 2024 approved nearly 9,000 — including approximately 1,000 affordable homes — driven in large part by Complete Communities. The program operates alongside Blueprint San Diego, the General Plan update adopted in 2024, which further expanded transit-oriented development capacity citywide.
San Diego's ADU Bonus Program, established in 2020, allows property owners to build additional market-rate ADUs when they also provide deed-restricted affordable ADUs. Within Transit Priority Areas, the exchange is one-for-one with no ceiling on total ADUs. Outside TPAs, one bonus (market-rate) ADU is permitted for each affordable ADU provided, with no additional tiers. Affordable ADUs must be deed-restricted to very-low-, low-, or moderate-income households for a minimum of 15 years.
Property owners in San Diego who agree to restrict at least one ADU to income-qualified tenants. Note: Following City Council action on July 23, 2025, the bonus program was eliminated in eight low-density single-family zones (RS 1-1 through RS 1-11). ADUs/JADUs on single-family lots are now capped at 6 total, with sub-caps based on lot size (4 on lots under 8,000 sq ft; 5 on lots 8,001–10,000 sq ft).
For sites in Transit Priority Areas, the ADU Bonus Program remains one of San Diego's most flexible tools for maximizing unit count on infill parcels. On multifamily-zoned and transit-adjacent properties, a developer who deed-restricts a portion of ADUs can build significantly more market-rate units than base zoning or state ADU law would otherwise allow.
San Diego's Inclusionary Affordable Housing Ordinance requires that a minimum percentage of units in new residential developments be deed-restricted as affordable. For rental developments of 10 or more units (5 or more within the Coastal Overlay Zone), at least 10% of units must be affordable to very-low or low-income households. For-sale developments must make 10% of units affordable to median-income households, or 15% to moderate-income households. Developers may alternatively pay an in-lieu fee — currently $25.00 per square foot — to satisfy the requirement.
All new residential developments of 10 or more units outside the Coastal Overlay Zone, and 5 or more units within it. Condominium conversions of 2 or more units are also subject to the requirement. The North City Future Urbanizing Area carries a higher threshold: 20% of units must be affordable. ADUs and JADUs are generally exempt.
The Inclusionary Ordinance is the baseline affordability obligation that applies to virtually every market-rate residential project in San Diego — before any bonus programs are considered. Understanding the inclusionary requirement is essential to modeling project feasibility, because the affordable units required by the ordinance also count toward thresholds that unlock density bonuses under the State Density Bonus Law, Complete Communities, and other programs. In this way, the inclusionary mandate and the bonus programs interact directly: satisfying one can activate the other.
Development yield under every regulation above is also shaped by a property's overlay zone designations. Overlays layer additional permissions or restrictions on top of base zoning — they can unlock significantly higher density, impose height caps, or require additional permitting. A parcel's overlays must be evaluated alongside its base zone and any applicable bonus programs.
A Transit Priority Area is the land within one-half mile of a major transit stop — defined as an existing or planned rail station, ferry terminal, or the intersection of two or more bus routes running at 15-minute or better frequency during peak commute hours. In San Diego, the TPA boundaries are mapped by the City's Planning Department and cover a significant share of the urban core. Approximately 60% of San Diegans live within a TPA.
TPA status is one of the most consequential overlay designations for a parcel. It is a threshold condition for San Diego's Complete Communities Housing Solutions program, the Affordable Micro-Unit Density Bonus, and the unlimited-ADU tier of the ADU Home Density Bonus program. State Density Bonus Law incentives, SB-79 height and density minimums, and AB-2011's 65-foot height allowance all hinge on proximity to transit — with TPA boundaries serving as the primary measuring line. Being inside a TPA substantially expands what can be built.
Per SDMC Chapter 11, the Sustainable Development Area is the area within a defined walking distance — measured along a pedestrian path of travel using sidewalks — from an existing or planned major transit stop. The sidewalk route must be continuous: if any segment along the path is missing sidewalk, the parcel is not eligible for SDA programs even if the total distance would otherwise qualify. Planned major transit stops qualify only if included in a transportation improvement program or an applicable regional transportation plan. Walking-distance thresholds depend on the parcel's Mobility Zone (SDMC §143.1103): 1.0 mile in Zones 1 and 3, 0.75 mile in Zone 4, and 1.0 mile in Zone 4 when the parcel is in a CTCAC-designated High or Highest Resource Opportunity Area. An adopted specific plan prepared under SDMC §122.0107(a) is included within the SDA if the SDA covers any portion of that specific plan's area. The SDA is broader than the half-mile Transit Priority Area (TPA) and is the geographic trigger for Complete Communities Housing Solutions' highest-density tiers.
SDA designation is the gateway to Complete Communities' FAR-based density framework. Projects inside an SDA are eligible for the program's four FAR tiers (up to no FAR limit in Tier 1), reduced or waived private open space requirements, and development impact fee waivers for deed-restricted affordable units and sub-500 sq ft units. For the ADU Home Density Bonus, being inside an SDA (which encompasses all TPAs) means no cap on the total number of bonus ADUs. Projects inside an SDA but outside a TPA may access some Complete Communities benefits but not the full transit-adjacent density stack.
The Coastal Overlay Zone covers all land within the California Coastal Zone in the City of San Diego — generally the area seaward of Interstate 5, plus portions of Mission Bay, La Jolla, and other coastal communities. Development within the Coastal Overlay Zone is subject to both the San Diego Municipal Code's coastal regulations and the California Coastal Act, administered by the California Coastal Commission. A Coastal Development Permit (CDP) is required for most development within this zone.
The Coastal Overlay Zone adds a significant permitting layer on top of all the regulations above. ADUs in the coastal zone are subject to additional siting restrictions — they cannot be built within 50 feet of a bluff top or within 300 feet of the mean high tide line without a full CDP. State ADU law preemptions that apply inland are more limited here, and the Coastal Commission must certify local coastal programs before streamlined approvals take effect. San Diego's ADU regulations were certified by the Coastal Commission in September 2024 as part of Housing Action Package 1.0, aligning coastal ADU rules with state law while preserving coastal resource protections. Complete Communities regulations are also being extended into the Coastal Zone, though implementation requires Coastal Commission review. Affordable units in the coastal zone that are demolished or converted require one-for-one replacement or an in-lieu fee to the City Housing Trust Fund.
The Sensitive Coastal Overlay Zone is a more restrictive layer applied within portions of the Coastal Overlay Zone that contain sensitive biological resources — including wetlands, sensitive habitat, and areas subject to state and federal environmental protection. Development that proposes any encroachment into sensitive resources requires additional review and, in most cases, mitigation. A minimum 100-foot buffer from wetlands is required and cannot be reduced where the buffer serves flood control, sediment filtration, or groundwater recharge functions.
The Sensitive Coastal Overlay Zone stacks on top of both the Coastal Overlay Zone and the Coastal Height Limitation Overlay Zone, adding a third layer of constraint. ADU construction, lot splits under SB-9, and even otherwise streamlined approvals under SB-35/423 face additional biological resource review within this zone. State and federal agencies — including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — have jurisdiction over impacts to wetlands and listed species habitat within these boundaries, meaning the City's approval alone is insufficient. Parcels that appear buildable under base zoning and bonus programs may be significantly constrained or unbuildable if they contain mapped sensitive resources.
The Floodplain Overlay Zone implements the requirements of FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program within the City of San Diego. It applies to land within the 100-year floodplain (Special Flood Hazard Area, Zone A or AE) and the 500-year floodplain (Zone X shaded), as mapped on FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Development within a Special Flood Hazard Area requires a Floodplain Development Permit and must meet elevation and floodproofing standards. Structures must be elevated above the Base Flood Elevation, and fill used to raise a building pad requires compensatory floodplain storage elsewhere.
Parcels within or adjacent to a mapped floodplain face constraints that can significantly reduce buildable area, increase construction costs, and complicate financing. Development within the floodway — the channel and the area required to carry floodwaters — is generally prohibited. State streamlining laws, including SB-35/423 and ADU ministerial approval, do not override floodplain development permit requirements. Flood zone designation also triggers mandatory flood insurance requirements for federally backed mortgages, which affects for-sale and rental project economics. FEMA's maps are periodically updated through the Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) and Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) processes, which can add or remove parcels from regulated areas.
The Hillside Review Overlay Zone applies to properties with slopes of 25% or greater, requiring additional environmental and grading review to minimize landslide risk, erosion, and visual impacts. The Steep Hillside Overlay Zone is a more restrictive subset applying to slopes of 40% or greater, where development — including grading, clearing, and structures — is generally prohibited on those slope areas. Both overlays interact with San Diego's grading ordinance and, in vegetated areas, the Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) habitat regulations.
On hillside parcels, effective buildable area is often significantly less than gross lot area suggests. Large portions of a parcel may be unbuildable under the steep hillside prohibition, and setbacks from slope edges, required slope stabilization, and grading permit review add time and cost to projects that might otherwise qualify for base-zoning or streamlined approval. State streamlining laws generally cannot override local grading and slope stability requirements grounded in objective public safety standards. For SB-9 lot splits, each resulting parcel must be independently feasible to develop — hillside constraints can make a technically permissible split physically impractical. Gross acreage on a sloped parcel is a poor proxy for development yield without accounting for these overlays.
San Diego has two sets of airport-related overlay zones: the Airport Approach Overlay Zone and Airport Environs Overlay Zone (Divisions 2–3), which address flight path obstructions and noise near San Diego International Airport and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar; and the Airport Land Use Compatibility Overlay Zone (Division 15), which implements the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plans (ALUCPs) adopted by the Airport Land Use Commission. The ALUCP establishes safety zones, noise contours, and maximum residential densities based on proximity to flight operations.
Within airport safety and noise zones, residential development may be prohibited outright, limited to specified densities, or required to incorporate noise attenuation measures. Maximum dwelling units per acre are set by compatibility zone — not by base zoning — and these caps can be lower than what the base zone or density bonus programs would otherwise allow. Height limits near flight paths apply regardless of what state law (including the Density Bonus Law or SB-79) would otherwise permit. Parcels in Mission Hills, Middletown, North Park, Kearny Mesa, and communities near Miramar are commonly affected. Airport overlay restrictions are among the few constraints that state housing law does not fully preempt.
The Community Plan Implementation Overlay Zone applies supplemental, site- or neighborhood-specific development regulations on top of base zoning in order to implement the policies of individual community plans. CPIOZ regulations are tailored to specific areas and can include additional height limits, design standards, stepped massing requirements, maximum residential densities, or requirements for discretionary permit review that would not otherwise apply. CPIOZs are in place across dozens of San Diego neighborhoods, each with its own set of supplemental standards.
A CPIOZ designation means a parcel is subject to a second layer of development standards beyond base zoning — and those standards can be more restrictive than what base zoning alone would allow. In practice, a CPIOZ can cap height below what the Density Bonus Law, Complete Communities, or SB-79 might otherwise enable, or it can require discretionary review that slows or complicates otherwise streamlined approvals. However, where CPIOZ standards conflict with state law, state law generally prevails — meaning a qualifying density bonus project, for example, may be able to exceed CPIOZ height limits through a waiver. The interaction between CPIOZ standards and state preemption is an active area of legal and planning practice in San Diego.
The Mobilehome Park Overlay Zone preserves existing mobilehome park sites by restricting their use exclusively to mobilehome dwellings. The only permitted use on a covered parcel is to accommodate mobilehomes as single-unit dwellings. Conversion of a mobilehome park to any other use — including market-rate residential development — requires a formal discontinuance process that includes a City-approved relocation plan for displaced tenants, developed in coordination with the San Diego Housing Commission. Condominium projects and other non-mobilehome uses are explicitly prohibited within the overlay.
The Mobilehome Park Overlay Zone is one of the strongest constraints on development yield in San Diego. A parcel covered by this overlay cannot be redeveloped under any of the bonus programs above — not under base zoning, not through Complete Communities, not through SB-9 or AB-2011 — without first completing the formal discontinuance and tenant relocation process. This process involves significant cost, timeline, and community review. For developers evaluating sites, the presence of a Mobilehome Park Overlay designation effectively takes a parcel out of the standard development pipeline until the overlay is resolved.
The Coastal Height Limitation Overlay Zone imposes a 30-foot height cap on all buildings and structures in the area generally west of Interstate 5, with limited exceptions for Downtown San Diego and Barrio Logan. The limit was established by voter initiative in 1972 and has been defended in subsequent ballot measures. Building height is measured from finished grade to the highest point of the structure — including roof equipment, parapets, and mechanical elements.
The CHLOZ is the most restrictive height overlay in San Diego and directly constrains the value of density bonus programs for coastal parcels. A project that would qualify for additional height under State Density Bonus Law, Complete Communities, or SB-79 is still subject to the 30-foot limit unless an exemption applies. However, in a June 2022 Letter of Technical Assistance, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) advised that state Density Bonus Law supersedes the CHLOZ — meaning qualifying density bonus projects can exceed 30 feet in the coastal zone. This interpretation is contested and has not been definitively resolved by the courts. The CHLOZ therefore represents a significant source of entitlement risk for coastal infill projects that rely on height waivers under the DBL or other state programs.
These laws don't directly determine what can be built on a parcel, but they shape the environment in which all of the above regulations operate. They constrain local governments from blocking compliant housing, stabilize the rules during entitlement, and create enforcement consequences when cities fall out of compliance with state housing law.
The Housing Accountability Act, often called California's 'anti-NIMBY law,' prohibits local governments from denying, reducing the density of, or making infeasible any housing development project that complies with objective local zoning and general plan standards, unless denial is based on specific findings related to public health or safety. Local agencies that lose HAA challenges typically must pay the plaintiff's attorney fees.
The HAA is the foundational legal backstop behind most of California's modern housing streamlining. It's why SB 35/423, the State Density Bonus Law, and ministerial ADU approvals are enforceable — local agencies cannot simply override compliant applications through discretionary denial. For San Diego developers, the HAA means that a project meeting objective standards has meaningful legal protection against arbitrary rejection. It also shapes how the city drafts its objective design standards and conditions of approval, since overly subjective requirements are vulnerable to HAA challenges.
CEQA, enacted in 1970, requires public agencies to identify and disclose the environmental impacts of any project they discretionarily approve, and to mitigate or avoid those impacts where feasible. CEQA applies only to discretionary actions — projects involving subjective standards or local-agency judgment — not to ministerial actions, where the agency applies fixed objective criteria. The review ladder runs from a Categorical Exemption (no review required) through a Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration (significant impacts ruled out, sometimes with mitigation conditions) to a full Environmental Impact Report (comprehensive analysis with public review and mitigation requirements). Common housing-relevant exemptions include statutory exemptions (most notably AB 130's new §21080.66 infill-housing CEQA exemption) and categorical exemptions — particularly the Class 32 "infill development" exemption (CEQA Guidelines §15332), which applies to projects under 5 acres in urban areas that are consistent with general plan and zoning and have no significant environmental effects. CEQA determinations may be challenged in court, and adverse rulings can require additional review or block project approval entirely.
CEQA is the load-bearing framework that California's housing-streamlining laws (SB 35/423, SB 684, AB 2011, SB 4, AB 130, Builder's Remedy) bypass to varying degrees. Understanding CEQA exposure is critical to evaluating those bypass provisions: the value of a "CEQA-exempt" approval is the time, cost, and litigation risk it removes — typically a 12-to-24-month EIR process, related consultant costs, and exposure to project-blocking lawsuits. For ministerial projects (base-zoning by-right approvals, SB 9 lot splits, most ADUs), CEQA never applies in the first place. For discretionary projects (most multifamily entitlements above base zoning, conditional uses, variances), CEQA exposure is a primary entitlement risk. The Class 32 categorical exemption and AB 130's new §21080.66 statutory exemption are alternative routes to CEQA bypass — they coexist rather than replacing each other, and many projects qualify under both. Most San Diego housing pathways are economically structured around whether CEQA review is required, categorically exempted, or replaced by a streamlined statutory exemption.
SB-330 prohibits local governments from enacting any new laws that would reduce the permitted density of housing within their boundaries, impose new development moratoria, or increase approval timelines beyond existing limits. It also locks in the zoning and development standards in effect at the time a developer submits a preliminary application — preventing cities from changing the rules mid-project. Net loss of housing units from demolition is prohibited. Originally scheduled to sunset January 1, 2030 (per SB 8 extension), but AB 130 (June 2025) removed the sunset — SB-330's protections are now permanent.
SB-330 protects San Diego developers from regulatory bait-and-switch. Once a preliminary application is submitted under the standards in effect at that time, the city cannot impose new fees, requirements, or downzones that would alter the project's economics. This matters most for larger projects with long entitlement timelines. The law also prevents San Diego from adopting housing moratoria or enacting new restrictive overlay zones that would reduce overall housing capacity — keeping the development environment stable while projects move through the permitting process.
SB 35 (2017), extended and expanded by SB 423 (effective January 1, 2024), requires local governments to provide a streamlined ministerial approval process — no discretionary review, no public hearing — for qualifying multifamily or mixed-use residential projects in jurisdictions not meeting their RHNA targets. SB 423 extended the program through 2036 and expanded it into the Coastal Zone for the first time beginning January 1, 2025. Projects must meet objective zoning and design standards, include an affordable housing component, and comply with labor standards including prevailing wage for projects of 10 or more units.
SB 35/423 doesn't change what can be built — it changes how it gets approved. For qualifying projects in San Diego, it replaces a discretionary public hearing process with ministerial review, dramatically reducing entitlement timelines and litigation risk. The 2025 Coastal Zone expansion is significant: projects along San Diego's coast that previously required Coastal Commission review may now qualify for ministerial approval. Because SB 35/423 operates on top of existing zoning and density limits rather than overriding them, it affects approval certainty and timeline rather than the unit count or density a project can achieve. AB 130 (June 2025) interaction: AB 130's expansion of the Permit Streamlining Act with new 60-day shot clocks (30-day for AB 130 CEQA-exempt projects) may modify SB 35/423's existing ministerial-review timelines. The controlling deadline for a specific project depends on which streamlining mechanism the developer invokes; practitioners should verify the controlling timeline before relying on a specific date.
SB 684 requires local agencies to ministerially approve, without CEQA review, subdivisions of 10 or fewer parcels on multifamily-zoned urban infill lots of 5 acres or less that are substantially surrounded by existing urban uses. The average net habitable floor area across all homes in the project may not exceed 1,750 sq ft. Local agencies must approve or deny applications within 60 days — failure to act results in automatic approval — and may not impose standards that physically preclude development at the permitted density. AB 130 (June 2025) amendment: AB 130 added remainder-parcel provisions to SB-684 governing how subdivision remainders that fall below the 10-parcel threshold are handled. Practitioners working with edge-case subdivision scenarios — particularly where a parent parcel doesn't divide cleanly into 10 or fewer SB-684-qualifying lots — should consult current statutory text or HCD guidance for the controlling rule.
SB 684 removes the primary entitlement barriers for small infill for-sale housing in San Diego — the type of project historically slowed by discretionary review and CEQA exposure. On multifamily-zoned urban lots, it opens a faster path for developers who want to subdivide and sell individual units rather than operate rentals, particularly for missing-middle housing types such as townhomes, small-lot single-family, and stacked flats. Like SB 35/423, it is an approval-pathway law: it doesn't change the density or unit count allowed by zoning, but removes the process friction that has historically made small for-sale infill projects economically difficult.
The Builder's Remedy allows developers to propose housing projects that don't conform to local zoning or general plan standards when a jurisdiction's housing element has not been certified by HCD. AB 1893 (effective January 1, 2025) formally codified the term into law and established new eligibility parameters. Projects must include at least 20% of units affordable to lower-income households, or be 100% affordable to moderate-income households.
San Diego currently maintains a certified housing element and has actively worked to stay compliant specifically to avoid triggering the Builder's Remedy. Its relevance here is as a policy backstop: the existence of the Builder's Remedy is one reason San Diego has kept pace with state housing requirements, which in turn keeps the city's full stack of base-zoning and streamlined approvals available to developers. When it has activated in other California jurisdictions, it has enabled projects far exceeding local height and density limits. AB 130 (June 2025) CEQA-exemption interaction: Under AB 130's new CEQA exemption (Public Resources Code §21080.66, as amended by the AB 158/SB 158 follow-up), Builder's Remedy projects may also qualify for the CEQA exemption — but at a tighter 4-acre site limit, compared to the 20-acre limit available to general infill housing under §21080.66. The reduced limit reflects that Builder's Remedy projects bypass local zoning by definition, so the additional CEQA bypass is available only at smaller project scale. Builder's Remedy applicability itself is unchanged by AB 130.
The Surplus Land Act requires local public agencies — cities, counties, special districts, school districts (with substantively expanded coverage following AB 130, June 2025), port authorities, transit agencies — to first offer real property they declare surplus to affordable housing developers, parks/open-space agencies, and educational uses before selling on the open market. Once a property is declared surplus, the agency must issue a Notice of Availability initiating a 60-day window for qualifying entities to express interest, followed by a 90-day good-faith negotiation period with any qualifying respondent. If the agency proceeds to sell to a housing developer, the project must include a minimum percentage of deed-restricted affordable units (specific thresholds vary by project size and have been adjusted through AB 1486 and subsequent amendments) and must comply with prevailing-wage standards. Compliance is enforced by HCD; agencies that violate the SLA may incur monetary penalties and may be barred from selling or transferring the property until violations are cured.
The SLA is a meaningful but underused source of San Diego affordable housing pipeline. San Diego Unified School District, the City of San Diego, the San Diego Unified Port District, MTS, and other public agencies periodically declare property surplus — disused school sites, decommissioned utility yards, redundant parking lots, agency-owned property held for past-purpose uses no longer needed. AB 130 (June 2025) modified the SLA's school-district provisions, narrowing carve-outs that previously exempted certain school-district transactions from SLA compliance — expanding the pool of public land subject to the affordable-housing-first requirement. For developers and nonprofits with affordable housing capacity, SLA-noticed properties are a structured deal-sourcing pathway with a fixed timeline and a known competitive set. The framework is most active in jurisdictions that have systematized their surplus-property declaration process; San Diego has done so through its City property management procedures. Specific changes from AB 130 should be confirmed against current HCD guidance before relying on prior school-district carve-outs.
AB 130 is California's June 2025 budget trailer bill — a housing and CEQA omnibus signed June 30, 2025 and effective immediately. Headline provisions: a new CEQA exemption for qualifying infill housing under Public Resources Code §21080.66 (projects up to 20 acres in urbanized areas, density at or above half the lower-income threshold, with tribal consultation and Phase I ESA requirements; reduced to 4 acres for Builder's Remedy projects per the AB 158/SB 158 follow-up); expansion of the Permit Streamlining Act to housing development projects with a new 60-day shot clock (30-day for AB 130 CEQA-exempt projects); a residential building code freeze from October 1, 2025 through June 1, 2031; SB 330 made permanent (the prior January 1, 2030 sunset removed); substantive amendments to SB 4, SB 684, and the Surplus Land Act; a not-yet-operational VMT mitigation fund; and various HAA enforcement provisions.
AB 130 is the largest single California housing reform package in recent legislative cycles. The §21080.66 CEQA exemption is the most consequential standalone provision — it removes the largest entitlement risk for qualifying infill projects without requiring any local action to opt in. The Permit Streamlining Act expansion creates timeline certainty across both discretionary and ministerial review pathways, where the prior 60-day shot clock applied only narrowly. The residential building code freeze through June 2031 stabilizes construction-cost assumptions for projects entitled before October 1, 2025 — a meaningful pro forma input. Several existing entries in this section (SB 330, SB 35/423, AB 2011, SB 4, SB 684, Builder's Remedy) carry AB 130 amendments that directly affect their San Diego application — see those entries for specifics. AB 130 is a regulatory-context update, not a new pathway — its provisions apply on top of and modify the existing pathway stack rather than offering a standalone development bypass.
These bills have cleared at least one legislative committee but have not yet been signed into law. They are tracked here because their passage would meaningfully affect development yield in San Diego. Content is updated as bills advance or fail.
AB 2074 would require California's seven largest cities — including San Diego — to designate regional transit hub districts in their urban cores by mid-2027. Within those districts, the bill sets a baseline building height of 150 feet and requires that at least one-quarter of the district land allow towers of 450 feet or more. Qualifying projects that meet labor standards, including prevailing wage, would receive streamlined ministerial approval. The bill also establishes a $500 million revolving state loan fund administered by the California Housing Finance Agency to provide low-interest financing for downtown housing developments.
AB 2074 passed the Assembly Housing Committee in April 2026 and is advancing to the Assembly Local Government and Natural Resources Committees before heading to the Assembly floor and, if approved, the Senate. The bill is sponsored by California YIMBY and the State Building and Construction Trades Council and has broad legislative support. If enacted, it would substantially expand high-rise residential development yield in San Diego's downtown core and other urban transit-adjacent neighborhoods — setting height floors that would significantly exceed current base zoning in most affected areas.
Disclaimer: Regulations change frequently. This platform is updated regularly to reflect current law. Always consult a qualified professional before making development decisions.
Last updated: May 2026