San Diego to get more transit housing density as SB 79 row settles

San Diego has spent recent years earning a reputation as one of California’s most aggressive housing builders, streamlining permits citywide.

But city leaders hesitated when state law required them to draw boundaries for new housing near neighborhood bus stops. San Diego officials proposed a far tighter map than regional and state regulators wanted. They limited eligible transit stops to just four locations.

That narrower approach didn’t survive engagement with the San Diego Association of Governments, the region’s transit planning authority. SANDAG posted a draft map in June identifying 17 additional bus stops that qualify for high-density housing. The stops qualify under Senate Bill 79, the state’s new transit-oriented development law.

The change could add tens of thousands of housing units to the city’s capacity. Those stops join 47 trolley stations that no one disputes are eligible under the law. SANDAG expects to finalize the map in the coming weeks.

San Diego’s situation reflects a broader statewide struggle. Cities and counties across California are digesting the law, which took effect July 1. Some have embraced it, while others have sought ways around full implementation by phasing in density over years.

In March, Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to take legal action against noncompliant cities and counties. The warning came as the Los Angeles City Council voted to limit density.

California wasn’t the trendsetter when it enacted this law, unlike its role in other housing reforms. It took three tries over eight years to pass. Massachusetts was the first to set the precedent in 2021, and state officials there are still working with cities on compliance.

City had already moved on density

San Diego embraced density downtown and along major transit corridors before SB 79 passed. In 2020, the city adopted Complete Communities: Housing Solutions to encourage dense, affordable, mixed-income housing near transit stops. In 2024, Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order requiring qualifying project permit applications to be processed within 30 days.

The city permitted nearly 8,800 homes that year, the second-most productive year in the previous decade, according to its 2025 annual housing report.

SB 79 added to that density. It permits larger buildings the closer a property sits to a qualifying transit stop.

Within 200 feet of a stop, buildings can reach 140 units per acre and 85 feet. Within a quarter mile, they can reach 100 units per acre and 65 feet. Between a quarter and a half mile, they can reach 80 units per acre and 65 feet.

The city had limited its original proposal to four stops: Park Boulevard at University Avenue, Park Boulevard at Howard Avenue, and two transit plazas where Interstate 15 meets El Cajon Boulevard and University Avenue.

City planning officials counted only bus stops served by dedicated bus lanes that cars and bikes couldn’t use. The interpretation set a stricter bar for what qualifies as “bus rapid transit” under SB 79.

YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County argued to city council members that the law wasn’t that restrictive.

“The City’s position rests on an observation about co-use, not a textual analysis of the statute,” the group wrote in a joint letter with the California Housing Defense Fund to the SANDAG board.

In the letter, they noted that several council members found the statutory case for qualification persuasive during a hearing earlier this year. Council members decided to leave the qualification decision to SANDAG.

“The City Planning Department’s maps presented at the City Council reflected SANDAG guidance at the time they were prepared,” Peter Kelly, a spokesperson for the city’s Planning Department, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “As we understand it, SANDAG has since received additional guidance, resulting in the inclusion of additional stops in its draft map.”

Stakes go beyond the bus stops

The dispute carries financial and housing stakes. San Diego officials estimated this spring that SB 79 would require the city to allow 367,000 additional housing units near major transit stops, based on the four-stop proposal.

YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County estimate that adding 17 more bus stops will push that number to roughly 467,000 units. The group and city officials say the final figure will likely drop some, to avoid double-counting units already permitted under the city’s Complete Communities program.

Even the expanded list may not be final. Four council members recently sent SANDAG a letter urging the agency to add more stops before finalizing the map.

They argued that only partially including these corridors would create gaps and inconsistent application of SB 79. That inconsistency, they said, would hit routes that run continuously with dedicated bus lanes.

If SANDAG agrees, it opens the door to more potential housing along public transit routes.