It takes more than a developer's proposal to turn deserted offices into homes. Even in Escondido, where a surge in empty office buildings has led the city to regulate them with fees. Between the empty offices …

The notices to vacate keep coming for tenants of Hawaiian Gardens and Sussex Gardens, neighboring apartment groups on Imperial Beach Boulevard.Over 100 low-income, elderly and disabled tenants are facing eviction, and many showed up at …

Carlsbad's long standing ban on new drive-thru restaurants is back on the table as the city continues to receive requests to build them.According to the Carlsbad Community Development Department, the number of commercial property owners …

A glut of empty shopping centers, storefronts, office buildings, and warehouses in downtown Escondido shows no sign of stopping.Along Grand Avenue, businesses have been leaving at a rate of over 500 percent in the last …

Another round of bench sweeps in Encinitas marks the latest effort to make public space unwelcoming to the homeless. Or, as businesses see it, welcoming to others.In response to complaints about trash and "loitering," the …

It's been decades since El Cajon banished new bars from its downtown — now it wants to bring them back. Faced with a night life that's been nodding off for years, the city is eyeing a …

To draw more visitors to downtown Vista, city council members are considering closing certain streets to cars so that bikes, feet and skateboards can take over the asphalt.A proposed pilot program, planned around events like …

The University of San Diego is preparing to increase the number of beds for full time students from 1,262 to 3,101.Planning commissioners last week praised the private university for being "proactive" on housing, and voted …

As San Diego considers relaxing rules around historic properties to make it easier to build more housing, Encinitas is exploring the creation of citywide historic districts.The idea, introduced last week by councilmember Joy Lyndes and …

El Cajon officials say the city is being swamped by 911 calls that aren't real emergencies. That is, no one leaves in an ambulance or requires medical aid.The calls are random, some medical, some not, …

The Wave, San Diego County's first municipal water park, opened in Vista in 1994. Over the years, the costs to maintain it have ballooned. An assessment finds it will take somewhere between $6,100,000 and $16,800,000 …

Ocean Beach hasn't built much multifamily housing in recent years, and now an apartment planned at the southwest corner of Point Loma Ave. and Ebers Street is on hold.The San Diego Planning Commission last week …

The El Cajon City Council has approved 132 new condos on a lot on East Main Street that could hold 209 units.Lennar's townhomes are expected to fill a need for moderate-income workforce housing, which company …

There are over 9,000 parcels in Carlsbad's single-family residential zone where up to 25 backyard chickens can be kept. Surprisingly, it's neighbors in one of the city's few agriculturally-zoned neighborhoods who are calling for limits. "Chicken …

It may get harder to live for free in Escondido. In June, the city council passed a ban on public camping; this week they'll consider tougher parking rules for recreational vehicles.The proposed ordinance would impose …

An El Cajon City Council discussion of panhandling signs last week turned into a debate about messaging and addiction."I'm close to the line of shaming somebody who happens to be struggling with something," said councilmember …

In the next few years the city will lose 1,602 shelter beds, as redevelopment plans elbow out the old central library women's shelter, 16th and Newton, and others.One big solution? A proposed 65,000 square foot …

For every ten pieces of trash collected in 2023, eight were plastic, according to a report for this year's countywide volunteer beach and park cleanups sponsored by the San Diego chapters of Surfrider and Coastkeeper.To …

The county's tiny home rollout is rolling. Opponents of a proposal to set up 150 sleeping cabins for the homeless in Spring Valley have helped get the location shifted four miles west to Lemon Grove.Although …

A proposal to put 50-70 homes adjacent to the Weston subdivision in Santee faces several obstacles, but it's gotten by the first.The Planning Commission voted 6-0 last week in favor of the initial step of …

Four more trees in Encinitas will join the Melba Heritage Grove approved last year, and the developer of an adjacent housing project is uneasy about the expanding protected forest."Let's not let this complicate something that's …

To reroute trains off the eroding Del Mar bluffs, officials are trying to figure out where to put the underground tunnels that will run 300 feet deep in some parts of the city.While the 1.7 …

Encinitas has been grappling for years with a proposed addition to its 2017 tree ordinance: mature trees. The city already has a category for heritage trees, reserved for trees that are among the oldest and largest …

A series of living levees — earthen embankments — along the San Dieguito River could help protect affordable housing at the fairgrounds and homes in Del Mar's North Beach.As part of its sea rise planning, …

Hundreds of threatened animal species live in neighborhoods where the city wants to build more housing and trails for humans.Where will the non-humans go?Blueprint SD, an update to San Diego's general plan, is supposed to …

Encinitas is leaning electric — again. The city has introduced a modified version of an ordinance it passed in 2021 (and later suspended) that required new buildings to be all electric.This time the focus is …

Signals, Lights, Cams. Encinitas will keep tabs on even more drivers under a proposal to install 17 new automated license-plate readers at locations from Manchester Avenue to Leucadia Boulevard.These are in addition to seven cameras …

It's a blip in the budget, but lake users say a $59,000 proposed funding cut could have a big impact on fishing and other recreation at the city's nine reservoirs. The lakes are part of the …

Escondido officials are scrambling to avert a catastrophic failure of a section of the city’s 14-mile land outfall pipeline near the San Elijo Lagoon, a protected marine reserve.The city was alerted on April 16 that …

Of the five port cities, only National City has no access to the bayfront.That issue, along with ethics reform, are part of a bill introduced in February by Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego. Assembly bill …

In San Diego, Gen Z-ers, those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, are better off renting. But they aren't exactly well off renting, either."Felt like I was living in a vacation place and …

San Diego's ban on camping on public property, which went into effect last summer, may have pushed more unsheltered people into National City. While the evidence is mostly anecdotal, National City officials have used it to …

Flat top palm trees aren't a new species; they're the leftovers of a non-native weevil feeding frenzy. And they're all over Encinitas.The scraggly remnants of once-lush Canary Island date palms are the visible signs that …

Many uptown inhabitants feel left out of community planning, which is now represented by Uptown Planners, a group whose voting members are mostly homeowners. The San Diego City Council’s land use and housing committee last week …

An East Village house given historic designation in 2021 won't be saved, even though supporters say there are very few Victorian era buildings left in San Diego.The city council on Monday unanimously overturned the Historical …

The county's 60-day ban on evictions and rent increases after historic flooding in January ends this month, while uncertainty lingers.National City officials voted 3-2 last week to continue to rely on the existing county ordinance, …

A fear of Palomar Airport turning into a noisy “John Wayne South” has kept a group of Carlsbad residents fighting for local control of the county-run airport three miles southeast of the city. Last week the …

A street known for accidents is being redesigned to make it safer, while also being eyed as the new path for the rapid bus between Otay Mesa and Imperial Beach.City officials see the five-month-old rapid …

An attempt to rebuild a fire-ravaged home in Encinitas on the very same bluff edge that gave way has ended, though neighbors say the fallout of the 2019 blaze goes on."The home is a huge …

Oceanside's newly certified Coast Highway Incentive District paves the way for big changes along the corridor, including housing. It comes after a long struggle to address the Coastal Commission's concerns that threatened to undo the …

Powerful winter storms and a recent landslide that stopped the trains in San Clemente are reminders of the urgency of moving the rail line off the Del Mar bluffs.But where to put the massive 1.6-mile …

National City on Monday declared a state of emergency following rains so severe, water and mud surged into apartments on Highland Ave., forcing tenants into hotels.It began with a storm on January 22 that dropped …

The new rapid electric buses seem to check all the boxes when it comes to transit: no long wait times to get a ride, limited stops, lots of elbow room.But to many Imperial Beach inhabitants, …

The Solana Beach city council has approved emergency repairs to a large section of a failing seawall below the Del Mar Beach Club condominium complex.Upper bluff – currentSitting at the edge of a bluff above …

A Del Mar homeowner whose lush greenery has overtaken an unimproved alley can continue. Such public streets are shown on maps but remain unimproved — or are intended to.The city council on Monday voted 3-2 …

Oceanside has approved a moratorium on new short term rentals in all residential zoning districts outside the city's coastal zone.It's only the start, as the city tries to tame what has in some cases morphed …

Sweetwater Authority officials and Loveland lake users are discussing what to do with a $750,000 state grant the agency has received for trail improvements. In the first workshop this month, which a late change of …

The city of Del Mar is still trying to figure out where to build the 113 affordable units it needs to meet state housing requirements, and it's gotten more complicated.Many locals say a large complex …

The city council on Monday voted unanimously to pass the Complete Streets policy, a plan for revamping streets to make them safer for all modes of travel. The plan emphasizes features such as the buffered bike …

The battle continues over a plan to build 19,000 new homes in Hillcrest, which hasn't seen any boost in residential densities in more than three decades.It has, however, seen such an increase in homelessness, a …