Frustrated residents near San Diego State are proposing…
SAN DIEGO — Frustrated residents near San Diego State are proposing an aggressive crackdown on “mini-dorms” that opponents are calling unprecedented in California and too extreme.
Residents say strong regulations, such as special approval for houses with more than four bedrooms and allowing neighbors to file nuisance lawsuits, are needed to fight mini-dorms —converted single-family homes known for parties and other disruptive behavior.
The zoning overlay they propose, which the City Council’s Rules Committee submitted to the city attorney last week for vetting, would also require on-site managers at houses with repeated code violations and would limit parking on a property to four spaces per house.
In addition, square footage devoted to bedrooms couldn’t exceed square footage devoted to other areas.
The residents complain that two city laws approved in 2008 have done almost nothing to stem the proliferation of mini-dorms, which they say have irreversibly destroyed single-family neighborhoods in the college area, Rolando and El Cerrito.
Opponents, including some mini-dorm owners, say the proposed overlay ordinance goes beyond legislation approved in other California cities with large universities, such as Berkeley, Davis, Riverside, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
“If this proposal is adopted in its entirety, it will be the most broad, sweeping ordinance,” said Matthew Soleimanpour, a spokesman for the owners of about 200 properties. “None of those cities have the punitive measures that this particular ordinance would enact.”
Soleimanpour said the ordinance would also make affordable housing, particularly for students, even harder to find near the university. And he said less off-street spots would worsen parking problems at the university.
It would also hurt the economy by slowing construction and renovation work near San Diego State, and damage city finances by limiting construction permit fees and slowing increases in property taxes, he said.
“Not only are we putting people out of work, but we’re cutting off a revenue stream to the city,” he said.
Others also object to a resident request for a moratorium on additional conversions and construction while the ordinance is under review.
Residents, who got help with the ordinance from Councilwoman Marti Emerald’s office, said the moratorium is crucial.
“If there isn’t an administrative hold, you’ll see a tsunami of people trying to expand their houses before the ordinance goes into effect,” said resident Ann Cottrell.
Matt Adams, vice president of San Diego’s Building Industry Association, said such moratoriums can be dangerous because it could take years for an ordinance to be approved.
The council’s Rules Committee voted 4-1 to forward the proposed ordinance and moratorium to the city attorney’s office for analysis of “all legal aspects.”
But even those in favor raised concerns.
Councilman Chris Cate said he wouldn’t support a moratorium and that he was dubious of plans to apply the limit on parking spots retroactively to an estimated 813 mini-dorms near campus.
Council President Sherri Lightner said she wants the city to boost enforcement of existing laws with more robust code enforcement over the next three months before adopting a new law.
Councilman Mark Kersey, who cast the only “no” vote, said he’d prefer a solution that takes into account the root of the problem: a shortage of on-campus housing at SDSU.
“I would like to see, if possible, a more holistic bite at the apple,” Kersey said.
Emerald said the university has been a good partner, noting that new student housing is under construction at College Avenue and Montezuma Road.
But she said additional solutions are necessary or steadily more neighborhoods near the campus will lose their single-family character.
Residents said mini-dorms bring problems with excessive trash, late-night noise and downgraded aesthetics, partly because many mini-dorm operators pave over yards to create additional parking spots.
The ineffectiveness of the 2008 city legislation — a rooming house ordinance and a residential high-occupancy ordinance — was masked by declining enrollment at SDSU during the Great Recession and its aftermath, Emerald said.
Now that enrollment is again on the rise, more three- and four-bedroom homes are being converted into mini-dorms with seven or eight bedrooms.
And some are becoming what residents call a supersized mini-dorm, with as many as 15 bedrooms.
In addition to the two ordinances that residents call ineffective, the city has passed legislation allowing $1,000-per-resident citations for loud parties.
Previous legislative efforts to address mini-dorms have been citywide, but the new proposal would target a specfic area bounded roughly by Interstate 8 to the north, University Avenue to the south, the La Mesa border to the east and Collwood Boulevard/54th Street to the west.
Deputy City Attorney Sharon Spivak said she would try to draft a proposed ordinance by July.
The city’s Independent Budget Analyst has agreed to analyze potential economic effects of the changes.
