“Coastal Zoning Loophole ‘Neighbor Wars’” (May 5): Mark Umemoto’s nightmare — his neighbor is building an ADU against his property line without any setbacks — is , a clear result of the city's failure to recognize an unintended problem. Impact of the “Bonus ADU” Ordinance.
The ordinance also fails to provide any of the very low-income housing that its proponents promised.
This allows developers to clear-cut backyards with minimal replacement of mature trees, which goes against the City of San Diego's pledge to “grow” urban forests and combat climate change. .
These multifamily housing projects lack off-street parking, even though public transportation is woefully inadequate. And there is no follow-up to see if tenants are living without their own cars, as promised, or if they occasionally use public transportation.
The lack of design review resulted in a plethora of ugly, windowless stucco boxes.
Council members privately acknowledge the plan's failure, but lack the political will to prevent future abuses.
— Paul Kruger, Talmadge
The intrusive spread of large accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in modest neighborhoods is an age-old tale of clashing belief systems. There is a legal belief that you should do whatever you can get away with, even if it causes pain to others, and especially when you see so many people getting away with the same thing.
There is also the belief in the Golden Rule that you should treat others as you would like to be treated.
Heidi Martin believes in legalistic beliefs. If her adjacent neighbor starts building a large building on her property line, she might think differently.
City Hall’s enhanced ADU incentives pitted neighbor against neighbor and encouraged property owners to serve their self-interest by inflicting clear harm on surrounding residents. And no affordable housing is being created. We need more principled local government.
— Kate Cullen, North Park
