PRESS RELEASE
Circulate San Diego and Casita Coalition call on the City of San Diego to reorient its ADU program to help ordinary homeowners.
Contact: Colin Parent, CEO and General Counsel, Circulate San Diego
(619) 567-6856 | [email protected]
On April 28, 2025, Circulate San Diego and Casita Coalition sent a joint letter to the City of San Diego calling for a reorientation of its ADU program to help ordinary homeowners.
Most recent media coverage for San Diego’s ADU program has been on the subject of a few large outlier projects.
The letter from Circulate and Casita releases new data that shows San Diego is actually producing fewer ADUs than many of its peer jurisdictions. Data also shows that the vast majority of ADUs produced are in projects that are four units or fewer.
“San Diego has an opportunity to prevent large outlier ADU projects, while simultaneously making it easier for homeowners to build an ordinary small-scale ADU if they want to,” said Colin Parent, CEO and General Counsel for Circulate San Diego.
The letter includes new data analyses showing that among large cities in California, both Los Angeles and Long Beach are producing more ADUs per capita than San Diego. San Diego is still above average among large cities in California. Within the San Diego region, most jurisdictions are producing more ADUs per captia than San Diego. This indicates that while there have been some large outlier projects, it is still too difficult for ordinary homeowners in the City of San Diego looking to build a single ADU on their properties.
The letter recognizes that some investor-driven large ADU projects have generated significant opposition to San Diego’s ADU policy, and acknowledges that reforms are appropriate to ensure the long-term success of San Diego’s ADU program.
The letter also calls on the City to reorient the ADU program to help more ordinary homeowners, who are far more likely to want to build few, or only one ADU on their properties.
The full letter is available at https://www.circulatesd.org/adusforhomeowners.
The City of San Diego Planning Commission will be considering amendments to the City’s AUD policy on May 1st at 9:00 AM. The agenda is available at https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/2025-04/pc-agenda-5-1-2025-approved.pdf.
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About Circulate San Diego
Circulate San Diego is a regional nonprofit think tank dedicated to advancing mobility and making the region a better place to move, work, learn, and play. Our work focuses on creating great mobility choices, more walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, and land uses that promote sustainable growth. For more information, go to www.circulatesd.org.
About Casita Coalition
Casita Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in California with a national reach, leading a broad multi-sector coalition to advance middle housing solutions. We bring together leaders from the public and private sector to create more neighborhood homes including “missing middle” homes such as ADUs, ‘plexes, and townhomes. For more information, go to https://www.casitacoalition.org.
