Housing Unlocked

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Housing Unlocked Zoning Ordinance Amendment - Phase I

The proposed Housing Unlocked Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Phase I (Phase I Amendment) will be heard at the August 7, 2026, County Planning Commission Hearing. Updates have been made to the proposed Phase I Amendment language based on community and stakeholder feedback received during the courtesy public review period. Interested parties are encouraged to review the revised ordinance language, which is attached to the Planning Commission Staff Report, and provide additional comments for consideration by the Planning Commission. Following the County Planning Commission Hearing, the Phase I Amendment is anticipated to be presented to the Board of Supervisors for consideration this fall.

County Planning Commission Hearing: Friday, August 7, 2026

Location: County Operations Center – Chambers, 5520 Overland Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123

Agenda Item 2: Housing Unlocked Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Phase I Staff Report (Amendments pg. 2-54 through 2-128)

Provide comments via:

The Housing Unlocked Zoning Ordinance Amendments are intended to help achieve the housing goals of the County’s General Plan by expanding opportunities for a broader range of housing types and development options. Community members, stakeholders, and interested parties are encouraged to review the proposed changes and provide comments. Following the public review period, County staff will review and consider all feedback received. The amendments and public comments will then be presented to the County Planning Commission for recommendation later this summer, before consideration by the Board of Supervisors this fall.

Learn more about these draft Zoning Ordinance Amendments by viewing the recording of the Housing Unlocked Zoning Ordinance Amendments to Achieve General Plan Housing Goals webinar that was held on June 17th.

Housing Unlocked: Zoning & Development Designators 101

For an overview of the County's Zoning Ordinance and the Development Designators, check out our key terms sheet!

The key terms sheet covers how the Zoning Ordinance works today, using clear terminology and visual examples to illustrate how Development Designators function in practice. This technical foundation is intended to provide a shared understanding that can inform future conversations about how the County’s Zoning Ordinance may be updated to allow for a wider range of housing options.

County of San Diego Housing Unlocked Project

The County is working to create more housing options in unincorporated communities. To support these efforts, the County is updating the Zoning Ordinance to better align with current housing goals of the General Plan. This project will work to make it easier to build, or "unlock," housing through an analysis of, and modifications to, the development regulations in the Zoning Ordinance. This project contains multiple parts, including:

  • Analyzing and amending zoning regulations (for example, development designators) compared to existing General Plan densities.

  • Reviewing zoning requirements for large group homes and implementing more objective review standards.

  • Analyzing special area development regulations and considering application streamlining through checklists.

We are seeking community feedback on how the Zoning Ordinance and development designators areas should be changed to support meeting County housing goals. We will also be asking questions like how can the zoning requirements for housing projects be more flexible and consistent with other County rules?

Your feedback is important and will inform how the Zoning Ordinance and development designators should be updated to support meeting County housing goals. You will be able to inform:

  • Draft ordinance language - Available now!
  • Location and types of new housing options
  • Final recommendations to the Board of Supervisors
How can you participate?

For more information, please visit: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/longrangeplanning/housing-unlocked.html



Housing Unlocked Zoning Ordinance Amendment - Phase I

The proposed Housing Unlocked Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Phase I (Phase I Amendment) will be heard at the August 7, 2026, County Planning Commission Hearing. Updates have been made to the proposed Phase I Amendment language based on community and stakeholder feedback received during the courtesy public review period. Interested parties are encouraged to review the revised ordinance language, which is attached to the Planning Commission Staff Report, and provide additional comments for consideration by the Planning Commission. Following the County Planning Commission Hearing, the Phase I Amendment is anticipated to be presented to the Board of Supervisors for consideration this fall.

County Planning Commission Hearing: Friday, August 7, 2026

Location: County Operations Center – Chambers, 5520 Overland Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123

Agenda Item 2: Housing Unlocked Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Phase I Staff Report (Amendments pg. 2-54 through 2-128)

Provide comments via:

The Housing Unlocked Zoning Ordinance Amendments are intended to help achieve the housing goals of the County’s General Plan by expanding opportunities for a broader range of housing types and development options. Community members, stakeholders, and interested parties are encouraged to review the proposed changes and provide comments. Following the public review period, County staff will review and consider all feedback received. The amendments and public comments will then be presented to the County Planning Commission for recommendation later this summer, before consideration by the Board of Supervisors this fall.

Learn more about these draft Zoning Ordinance Amendments by viewing the recording of the Housing Unlocked Zoning Ordinance Amendments to Achieve General Plan Housing Goals webinar that was held on June 17th.

Housing Unlocked: Zoning & Development Designators 101

For an overview of the County's Zoning Ordinance and the Development Designators, check out our key terms sheet!

The key terms sheet covers how the Zoning Ordinance works today, using clear terminology and visual examples to illustrate how Development Designators function in practice. This technical foundation is intended to provide a shared understanding that can inform future conversations about how the County’s Zoning Ordinance may be updated to allow for a wider range of housing options.

County of San Diego Housing Unlocked Project

The County is working to create more housing options in unincorporated communities. To support these efforts, the County is updating the Zoning Ordinance to better align with current housing goals of the General Plan. This project will work to make it easier to build, or "unlock," housing through an analysis of, and modifications to, the development regulations in the Zoning Ordinance. This project contains multiple parts, including:

  • Analyzing and amending zoning regulations (for example, development designators) compared to existing General Plan densities.

  • Reviewing zoning requirements for large group homes and implementing more objective review standards.

  • Analyzing special area development regulations and considering application streamlining through checklists.

We are seeking community feedback on how the Zoning Ordinance and development designators areas should be changed to support meeting County housing goals. We will also be asking questions like how can the zoning requirements for housing projects be more flexible and consistent with other County rules?

Your feedback is important and will inform how the Zoning Ordinance and development designators should be updated to support meeting County housing goals. You will be able to inform:

  • Draft ordinance language - Available now!
  • Location and types of new housing options
  • Final recommendations to the Board of Supervisors
How can you participate?

For more information, please visit: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/longrangeplanning/housing-unlocked.html



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  • Share Does this have anything to do with increasing density in Alpine? on Facebook Share Does this have anything to do with increasing density in Alpine? on X (formerly Twitter) Share Does this have anything to do with increasing density in Alpine? on Linkedin Email Does this have anything to do with increasing density in Alpine? link

    Does this have anything to do with increasing density in Alpine?

    Sharon H asked 2 months ago

    Hi Sharon! Housing Unlocked will not be increasing any General Plan densities in the unincorporated area, including Alpine. 

    The purpose of the Housing Unlocked project is to better align the County's Zoning Ordinance with existing planned densities to support the County's housing development goals. 

    For more information on the Housing Unlocked Project, General Plan & Zoning Ordinance, please check out our FAQ's section of the website in the side bar or the recording of our webinars!

  • Share Thank you for posting the February 11, 2026 webinar slide deck on the Housing Unlocked website. When will the March 11, 2026 webinar slide deck be added? Those slides are a valuable reference. One can easily go directly to a slide that contained the information of interest. The webinar video is not user friendly in that regard. on Facebook Share Thank you for posting the February 11, 2026 webinar slide deck on the Housing Unlocked website. When will the March 11, 2026 webinar slide deck be added? Those slides are a valuable reference. One can easily go directly to a slide that contained the information of interest. The webinar video is not user friendly in that regard. on X (formerly Twitter) Share Thank you for posting the February 11, 2026 webinar slide deck on the Housing Unlocked website. When will the March 11, 2026 webinar slide deck be added? Those slides are a valuable reference. One can easily go directly to a slide that contained the information of interest. The webinar video is not user friendly in that regard. on Linkedin Email Thank you for posting the February 11, 2026 webinar slide deck on the Housing Unlocked website. When will the March 11, 2026 webinar slide deck be added? Those slides are a valuable reference. One can easily go directly to a slide that contained the information of interest. The webinar video is not user friendly in that regard. link

    Thank you for posting the February 11, 2026 webinar slide deck on the Housing Unlocked website. When will the March 11, 2026 webinar slide deck be added? Those slides are a valuable reference. One can easily go directly to a slide that contained the information of interest. The webinar video is not user friendly in that regard.

    Karen H. asked 5 months ago

    Hi Karen, thank you for reaching out regarding the presentation materials for our webinars!

    We have posted the webinar slide decks for February 11 and March 11 on our webpage, linked here: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/longrangeplanning/housing-unlocked.html

    Like you noted, we have also posted the webinar recordings here on our engage page.

    Thank you for engaging with the Housing Unlocked Project, and please let us know if you have any questions or comments!

Page last updated: 31 Jul 2026, 11:41 AM