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California — Watch List

ADU and condo entitlement support
in San Diego County

With ADU completions up nearly 5x since 2020, JDJ helps developers and
homeowners navigate San Diego’s Bonus ADU Program and multifamily
condo entitlements.

Governing Code

San Diego Municipal Code

Local Program

ADU Bonus Program

Review Layer

City Planning Dept.

Have a site in San Diego?

Tell us what you’re trying to build, and we’ll map the entitlement path through San Diego’s process.

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Talk to Our San Diego Team
CA & FL markets Los Angeles Altadena / Palisades Orange County San Diego Sacramento Miami-Dade Tampa Broward Orlando Orlando
How San Diego Regulates Development

The framework, in JDJ’s words

Each market on this site runs its own code, department names, and review process. Here’s San Diego’s.

Governing Code

San Diego Municipal Code

Local Program

ADU Bonus Program

Review Layer

City Planning Dept.

San Diego Service Offerings

What JDJ handles in San Diego

ADU permits more than tripled county-wide since 2020 — here’s how JDJ supports that growth.

01. Entitlements & Land Use
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ADU Bonus Program Applications
Additional density in exchange for affordability set-asides.
\
Multifamily Condo Entitlement Support
For-sale attached housing entitlement review.
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FAR / ESL Screening
Environmentally sensitive lands exclusion review.
02. Permit Expediting
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City Plan Check Coordination
Submittal management and tracking.
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Corrections Response Management
Resubmittal coordination.
U
03. Due Diligence & Feasibility
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San Diego County Recorder Research
Deed and easement review.
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North Park / South Park Infill Feasibility
Site screening in high-demand submarkets.
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Pre-Development Feasibility
Site screening before you buy.
Local Relevance

What actually shapes a project here

The issues, timelines, and project types that come up most often when we work in San Diego.

Common Land Use Issues

The Bonus ADU Program layers additional allowances on top of state law, but with deed restrictions on affordable units — a common point of confusion for owners expecting unconditional extra density.

FAR calculations must exclude environmentally sensitive lands, which can significantly reduce buildable area on hillside or canyon-adjacent parcels.

Timelines & Hurdles

ADU completions are up 480% since 2020, which has put real pressure on review timelines even as the city tries to hold to state-mandated windows.

Multifamily condo entitlement still requires more lead time than ADU work, particularly for attached for-sale projects.

Notable Project Types

ADU conversions remain the highest-volume project type, concentrated in the City of San Diego and unincorporated county areas.

Multifamily condo development is accelerating in North Park, South Park, and Golden Hill, driven by walkability and transit access.

Local Terminology

San Diego’s terms, decoded

The vocabulary you’ll hear from city or county staff, in plain English.

Bonus ADU Program
City program allowing extra ADUs in exchange for affordability set-asides.
ESL

Environmentally Sensitive Lands
— excluded from FAR
calculations.

FAR

Floor Area Ratio
— the ratio of building size to lot size.

CPIOD
Community Plan Implementation Overlay District — added design review in sensitive areas.
From the Blog

San Diego reading, written for your project

A few pieces our team is referencing right now for clients in this market.

ADU

San Diego's Bonus ADU Program, Explained

What the affordability trade-off actually looks like in practice.

Entitlements

FAR and ESL: The Math Behind Hillside Lots

Why some San Diego parcels build smaller than you'd expect.

Market

North Park's Condo Boom

Why this submarket keeps outperforming the county average.

FAQ

Questions we hear most in San Diego

Q. What is San Diego’s Bonus ADU Program?

It allows additional ADUs beyond the state baseline in exchange for deed-restricting some units as affordable — it’s an opt-in trade-off, not a free density increase.

Q. Does my lot have environmentally sensitive lands on it?

Possibly — ESL designations are common near canyons and hillsides and reduce your buildable FAR. We check this during feasibility, before design begins.

Q. Is San Diego ADU review as fast as LA’s?

It follows the same state-mandated timelines, but high permit volume has stretched local review times in practice.