Property Development Regulations
San Diego Municipal Code § 159.0307
in effect§159.0307 Property Development Regulations
No building or portion thereof shall be erected, constructed, converted, established, altered or enlarged, nor shall any premises be used unless the lot or premises and buildings shall comply with the applicable development regulations. Please refer to Appendices B and C for illustrations of the development regulations.
(a) Minimum Lot Area and Dimensions
(1) In all zones the minimum lot area size shall be 2,500 square feet, with a minimum frontage of 25 feet and a minimum lot depth of at least 100 feet, except as indicated in 159.0307(a)(2).
(2) Any lot which qualifies under the definition of a lot as set forth in the La Jolla Planned District and which does not comply in all respects with the minimum lot dimensions specified herein may nevertheless be used as permitted and otherwise regulated by the provisions applicable to the La Jolla Planned District, consistent with Land Development Code Section 113.0103 and Section 113.0237.
(3) Lot Splits
(A) Where any lot legally existing as of October 1, 1984, is subsequently divided into two or more lots, the maximum total combined area of office use on all lots resulting from the division shall not exceed the square footage limitation listed for the zone in which the lots are located prior to lot subdivision. See Section 159.0306.
(B) For purposes of the square footage limitations in the La Jolla Planned District, a parcel shall be defined as any contiguous piece of land which as of October 1, 1984, was comprised of one or more lots which were occupied generally by one building development, or by a general parking area, or was vacant, or any combination of the foregoing. Lot split requirements shall be as indicated in Section 159.0307(c).
(C) No parking exceptions shall be provided for newly created lots smaller than 6,000 square feet.
(b) Yard and Setbacks
Except as provided in Section 159.0402, the following minimum yard and setback requirements shall be observed:
(1) Front Yards
(A) Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 -- No requirement.
(B) Zones 5 and 6 -- A 15-foot minimum front yard is required, measured from the front property line to the building. A five-foot maximum encroachment into said yard may be approved, provided such encroachment does not exceed 50 feet in total length for any one encroachment and further provided that an additional equivalent landscaped area is provided directly in front of the building and behind and adjacent to the required yard (see also Section 159.0307(b)(6), and Appendix G).
(2) Street Side Yards
(A) Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 -- No requirement.
(B) Zones 5 and 6 -- A 10-foot minimum yard is required. A 3-foot encroachment into said yard may be approved, provided such encroachment does not exceed 50 feet in total length for any one encroachment and further provided that an additional equivalent landscaped area is provided directly in front of the building and behind and adjacent to the required yard. (See also Section 159.0307 (b)(6), and Appendix G).
(3) Interior Side Yards
(A) Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 -- None required, except that a four-foot side yard shall be provided if any portion of the side lot line abuts residentially zoned property. Such side yard shall be increased seven feet for any building height above 20 feet.
(B) Zones 5 and 6 -- A four-foot minimum yard is required. Such yard shall be increased to seven feet for building heights above 20 feet.
(4) Rear Yards
(A) Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 -- None required, except that a 15-foot rear yard shall be provided if any portion of the rear lot line abuts residentially zoned property. Such rear yard shall be increased three feet for any building height above 20 feet.
(B) Zones 5 and 6 -- A 15-foot minimum rear yard is required. Where the rear yard fronts along an alley, the rear yard may be reduced to 10 feet.
(5) Street Frontage Setback
All Zones -- A minimum 16-foot setback, measured from the curb to the building, shall be required. This is a separate requirement that must be met in addition to any front yard setback required by Section 159.0307(b)(1). (See Appendix B).
(6) Street Corner Lot Setbacks
(A) Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 -- A building on a street corner lot shall be set back behind an imaginary line that connects a point on each of the street front property lines which is distant from the corner by a length equal to 20 percent of the parcel frontage along that street, or 20 feet, whichever is less. See Appendix B. A 20 percent setback deviation at the property line may be approved as long as an additional equivalent area is made available behind the imaginary line linking the setback points at the property line.
(B) Zones 5 and 6 -- Refer to Section 159.0402, for requirements.
(c) Floor Area Ratio
(1) Maximum Base Density. Except as provided in Section 159.0307(c)(2), the maximum development density shall be as indicated in Table 159-03D.
159-03D
Maximum Base Density
Zone | Maximum Base Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Permitted Per Lot | Maximum Office FAR or Area Permitted (1) Within Maximum Base FAR
1 | 1.3 | 0.5 or 5,000 gross sq.ft., whichever is less
2 | 1.3 | 1.0 or 5,000 gross sq. ft., whichever is less
3 | 1.3 | 0.7 or 5,000 gross sq.ft., whichever is less
4 | 1.0 | 0.5 or 5,000 gross sq. ft., whichever is less
5 | 1.5 | Not applicable
6 | No restriction | Not applicable
Footnote for Table 159-03D
1 For lot splits containing offices uses, the office development maximum area prior to the lot split will apply. See Section 159.0307(a)(3).
(2) Maximum Bonus Density
(A) A residential/retail mixed use project (with no office uses), shall contain a minimum of 16 percent to a maximum of 50 percent of the total gross floor area in retail use, and the remainder of the total gross floor area in residential use, the maximum building floor area ratio shall be as described in Table 159-03E. The ground floor requirements for retail use, as set out in Section 159.0306(a) shall apply.
Table 159-03E
Residential/Retail Use Projects
Zone | Maximum Building Floor Area Ratio (including bonus)
1 | 1.7
2 | 1.7
3 | 1.7
4 | 1.3
5 | Not permitted
6 | Not permitted
(B) For an exclusively retail use project, containing not less than 26,000 square feet of total gross floor area, occupied by one primary tenant, and the remaining area occupied by additional retail tenants, the maximum building floor area ratio shall be as described in Table 159-03F. The ground floor requirements for retail use, as set out in Section 159.0306(a) shall apply.
Table 159-03F
Retail Use Projects
Zone Maximum Building Floor Area Ratio (including bonus)
1 1.7
2 1.7
3 1.7
4 1.3
5 Not permitted
6 Not permitted
(d) Maximum Height
(1) The maximum height of any point on any structure shall be 30 feet. Height shall be measured in accordance with Land Development Code Section 113.0270 with the exception of Section 113.0270(a)(4)(B)(i) and 113.0270(a)(2)(B). See Appendix B of the La Jolla Planned District.
(2) In addition to the height limit criteria above, the following areas within the planned district, as graphically depicted on Drawing No. C-766 on file in the office of the City Clerk, shall be limited to structures containing a maximum of two stories:
(A) All portions of Zone 2.
(B) All portions of Zone 4.
(C) Those portions of Zone 1 generally bounded by Herschel Avenue to the east, the alley parallel to and west of Girard Avenue to the west, Pearl Street to the south and Prospect Street to the north.
(D) All portions of Zone 3 south of Silverado Street.
(E) That small portion of Zone 5 surrounded by Coast Boulevard South and Coast Boulevard, generally west of the intersection of La Jolla Boulevard and Coast Boulevard South.
(3) The definition of "story," as it pertains to Section 159.0307(d), is identical to that contained in Land Development Code Section 113.0103.
(e) Street Facade Envelope
In all zones a street facade envelope shall be created along any property line adjacent to any public street. The envelope shall be measured 20 feet vertically and at the top thereof, shall slope back at a 45 degree angle toward the interior of the lot. No portion of any building or structure shall extend outside such envelope except as noted below (see Appendix B.)
(1) Twenty percent of the length of the building facade may exceed the 20 foot height limit, in order to provide roofline and facade variations, accents, tower elements, etc.
(2) Within the street facade envelope, no story or floor level or portion thereof, shall overhang any floor level below, provided however, that balconies on upper floors shall be permitted.
(3) No building or portion thereof shall project over the public right-of-way above ground level. Awnings and canopies may be permitted to encroach into the public right- of-way, subject to an encroachment permit consistent with the requirements of Section 159.0405 (see Appendix B).
(f) Siting of Buildings in Subareas 1A, 5A and 6A
(1) In Subareas 1A, 5A and 6A on the seaward side of Prospect Street, in order to provide for visual access corridors to the ocean, buildings shall be located so that the major axis of the structure will generally be at a right angle to the shoreline. An open visual access corridor of 10 percent of the lot width shall be maintained open to the sky and free from all visual obstructions from the front property line to the rear property line of the project.
(2) Refuse collection and loading areas shall not be located in any way that interferes into the visual access corridor (see Appendix B).
(“Property Development Regulations” added 3-27-2007 by O-19595 N.S.; effective 4-26-2007.)
(Amended 8-4-2011 by O-20081 N.S.; effective 10-6-2011.)
Source: City of San Diego Office of the City Clerk, San Diego Municipal Code and City Charter (docs.sandiego.gov PDFs)URL: https://docs.sandiego.gov/municode/MuniCodeChapter15/Ch15Art09Division03.pdf#page=10Fetched: 10/28/2026