Del Mar doesn't have food waste pickup. But by next year, it will have to. And restaurants, hard hit by the pandemic, are sweating the new costs, from dumpsters to rodent control. State regulations aimed …

Barrio Logan has fewer residents today than in 2010, a reverse trend from most of San Diego. But as its new community plan takes shape, chock full of improvements from parks and bikeway links to …

In Alpine's latest Community Plan Update, wildfire has its own standalone section, a result of changes to the environmental review process made by the state in 2018. The idea was to put the brakes on …

Where's the best place for renewable energy? Many backcountry locals think San Diego rooftops would be ideal. The county, however, is eyeing the wide open spaces of the desert. Out where bighorn sheep roam, the …

A battle to save 35 stately old pepper trees, the last to frame the streets of Kensington, is far from over. It's already too late for Karla, a centurion located at 4190 Monroe Street - …

City parks will temporarily make room for certain brick and mortar businesses to carry on outdoors - against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s regional stay-at-home order. The San Diego City Council passed an emergency ordinance last week …

The North County Transit District held off on plans to install the Del Mar portion of its rail corridor fencing last fall due to intense opposition, but as the year begins, the waiting is over. …

How to fight the virus in the year ahead? A post-holiday surge of cases is expected, and getting most people vaccinated will take more than a few months. Any tool that might help slow the …

A favorite splash of open space in Point Loma is still being fought over. Every step towards creating affordable rental housing on the five-acre lot on the southeast corner of Nimitz and Famosa Boulevards has …

A petition opposing a temporary ferris wheel in Balboa Park's Plaza de Panama has more than 2,600 signatures and counting. The city still has to approve the installation, which the Balboa Park committee voted 7-1 …

It's finally the homestretch for vacation rentals. After years of a Wild West that pits neighbors against neighbors and the remote investors they say are turning homes into hotels, rules have taken shape. The San …

A plan to build a massive new warehouse on the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal has reignited the fight over truck pollution in Barrio Logan. If approved by port commissioners on December 8, the Mitsubishi Cement …

A mid-year crime report for National City includes a new type of service call. Since March, about 225 calls to police were made under the new code for things like neighbors not wearing face masks …

In July, as the pandemic raged, the city waived fees and made it a lot easier for restaurants to obtain a permit for outdoor dining. Many in North Park quickly set up tables on sidewalks …

San Diego's plans to boost affordable housing include an abundance of granny flats. To that end the city has been overhauling the rules, most recently by dropping all parking requirements for granny flats and allowing …

A draft plan to preserve thousands of acres of natural habitat in North County was unanimously approved by supervisors last week, but changes were called for. The San Diego Multi-Species Conservation Plan aims to balance …

A decision to tear down the historic adobe Paxton house in Escondido has no plan B. And the city needs the 42 condo units that will take its place. But the house, most recently known …

The city of Del Mar passed a key zoning amendment on October 19 that helps it comply with state housing laws, but it's too little, too late for the developer of the lots, who will …

Regulations proposed for vacation rentals makes scant mention of accessory dwelling units, even though their numbers have surged under new state and local laws meant to boost housing. So how will they figure in? It …

The city has stopped paying rent on 101 Ash St., but the asbestos-riddled building has sat empty for months, posing a new problem. Vacant buildings are at high risk of vandalism, fire and theft. And …

There's only one place to cross the railway legally to get to the beach in Del Mar. But instead of adding more safe crossings, transit officials want to add 1.4 miles of fencing along the …

A mixed-use project approved by the planning commission on Thursday will fill some gaps in downtown's East Village. But in some ways, the modern 9G tower resembles an earlier era. 241 new dwelling units in …

If there's one thing communities around San Diego Bay agree on, it's hotels. They are view-killers, pedestrian blockers, tourist malls. Yet the Port wants more. When the San Diego Unified Port District, which oversees the …

A casual dip at a city pool now takes planning, a reservation, and willingness to arrive in a bathing suit. When it comes to re-opening pools, San Diego has its toes in the water, but …

If developers want to build small urban infill projects to patch housing gaps, great. But there's no guarantee it will fly. And it may take longer than the "expedite" program for such housing suggests. On …

To some, tiny houses are impractical. But when it comes to a quick way to put roofs over heads in a pandemic, small is beautiful. As zoning codes catch up with reality, tiny houses are …

National City – a Mayor Daley-type political machine To the south of San Diego, within range of the shadows cast by the Coronado Bridge, lies National City. Frequently described as the “backlot" of San Diego, …

The updated community plan for Kearny Mesa includes more than 40 miles of bikeways and numerous paths for pedestrians – but rezoning for the sake of selling cars? Not this time around. As a 30-year …

An appeal of the environmental determination for the Olive Street park in the uptown area was defeated by a unanimous vote of the San Diego City Council last Tuesday. City staff had determined that the …

A 48-lot housing project perched over an impaired lagoon has survived an appeal to the Coastal Commission. The "La Costa 48," to be built just west of I-5 along La Costa Ave in Encinitas, would …

It's sea lion pupping season at La Jolla Cove, right alongside beach re-openings and the human haul out – and social distancing isn't working too well. At least not between humans and pinnipeds. Ellen Shively, …

To keep Del Mar's essential services going amid the pandemic, the city proposed a pause on tree and view complaints through June 30, 2021. It didn't go well. To many residents, defending a scenic view …

In Descanso, 40 miles east of San Diego in the foothills of the Cuyamaca Mountains, internet service is iffy, patchy - and pricey. Residents don't see that changing any time soon. The 5G battles being …

Complete public sleeping ban Imperial Beach has banned camping or sleeping in public with an ordinance that reaches into every last corner, from pavement to median, "including but not limited to dirt or landscaped areas." …

Tomorrow, July 1, a new state law aimed at curbing vehicle emissions takes effect, and the county must change the way it reviews development impacts. Nowhere does it matter more than in the rural areas. …

Almost 66 percent of San Diego transit riders are low income. And living on the edge can mean a $75 ticket for a missed fare will go unpaid, sending a simple violation to a criminal …

A new ordinance regulating the use of drones in Del Mar will take effect on June 17. The rules will "add to guidelines set by the FAA," a city report says. While the Federal Aviation …

As developers see it, Adara is a transitional village, filling empty space between urban Chula Vista and rural Jamul with badly needed housing. The county board of supervisors approved the project a year ago, but …

All along the coast, cliffs are eroding more rapidly due to sea rise. Last August, a sunny day and crowded beach made for the worst outcome when a 30-foot-wide slab of sandstone bluff collapsed onto …

It wasn't on the county planning commission's May 15 agenda, but Lilac Hills Ranch, a proposed subdivision near rural Valley Center, came up - just like it keeps coming back. The county had given the …

Instead of widening I-5, widen the options for transit. That was the idea behind a lawsuit in 2013 that claimed the proposed freeway expansion between La Jolla and Oceanside would lead to “an enormous surge …

Coronavirus has taken a huge bite out of Coronado's tourism income. Hotel stays have plummeted. Restaurants and spas sit empty. Employees are out of work. Now, the town that hasn't always welcomed leisure visitors needs …

In late March when Mesa college shut down under the statewide stay-at-home order, there was only one way to close. "We all left campus like the place was on fire," said president Pamela Luster in …

As restaurants shift from dining in to takeout and delivery, coastal cities face a more insidious sea change: plastic. Encinitas is moving ahead with the last phase of its plastics initiative, this one banning the …

As roads have emptied under the coronavirus shutdown, new turf has opened up for bicyclists. More people are turning to bikes to get outdoors – or just to get around. "We have increased in business …

Every day, San Diego's bus and trolley drivers shuffle thousands of passengers around the county. As essential workers providing service to other essential workers, including those in healthcare, uncertainty clouds their daily routine. Last week …

In many places, temporary bans and restrictions are being placed on short-term rentals to help stop the spread of coronavirus. San Diego, reeling from the travel slowdown, hasn't joined them. On April 4, Newport Beach, …

The local toll of COVID-19 keeps rising. Over six hundred confirmed cases as of Monday, March 30. An unknown number of infected people out and about. Ten million dollars per month and climbing in costs …

Almost a week after the county banned large gatherings and life-as-usual came to a halt, the air has changed. From Otay Mesa to Oceanside, the color-coded maps that show where air pollutants concentrate are green, …

In recent years, National City has made it a little harder to open a regular bar while making it a lot easier to open a craft brewery. The changes began long before. When the city …