As San Diego Cracked Down on Sprawling ADU Projects, a Few Sneaked in Just Under the Wire

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14 hours ago
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Critics of the city's former bonus ADU incentive earlier this year worried whether developers would take advantage of the delay. Few have, however.

A 14-unit ADU project under construction at 3879 Boren Street in the Redwood Village community on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in San Diego. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Developers didn’t make a mad rush to take advantage of the city’s controversial backyard apartment incentive before it expired Aug. 22 — but they did get a handful of large projects OK’d just under the wire.

And some of those projects appear to be classic examples of what the incentive’s critics call “ugly,” “egregious” and an “exploitation” of a city policy that aimed to help solve the local housing crisis.

One project will put 73 backyard apartments — formally called accessory dwelling units, or ADUs — on one single-family lot. Another project calls for 19 ADUs on a single-family lot, and another proposes 15.

The two largest projects are both being developed by Christian Spicer, an investor and developer who has faced the most criticism for his use of the city’s ADU bonus incentive.

The projects are also located in neighborhoods where the ADU incentive has been particularly controversial. The 19-unit project is in Pacific Beach, and the 73-unit project is in Encanto, where a firestorm of backlash against the rule was sparked last January.

That backlash eventually led the City Council to significantly roll back the incentive in a 5-4 vote on June 16, but the rollback didn’t take effect until more than nine weeks later on Aug. 22.

That’s because such policy changes require a second vote by the council, which took place July 22. The mayor signed the policy the same day, but state law still requires 30 more days before the policy can take effect.

Critics of the incentive, including some council members, worried during the five-hour June 16 hearing on the rollback whether developers would take advantage of the delay.

. . . the rest of the story

By David Garrick | December 14, 2025 | The San Diego Union-Tribune

EDITOR'S NOTE: The red dot marks 698 Leghorn Avenue in San Diego. That's where the big one went in . . . 73 ADUs . . . just five and a half miles from Bonita. Stay alert People!