What does the City of San Diego's new Mid-City draft plan propose for Adams Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard?
The draft plan the City released in August 2026 ties Adams Avenue's new density to "high-quality transit, including the planned Rapid 211." SANDAG has not funded that bus for planning. Rapid 215 already runs on El Cajon Boulevard.
The draft plan's map and amenities
The draft covers about 8,000 acres. It includes City Heights, Normal Heights, Kensington, Talmadge, Rolando and nearby areas. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, it could raise the number of homes in that area from 54,000 to 96,000. The City prefers to describe the change as 32,900 net new units. That is the difference between the 62,600 homes allowed under the 1998 plan and the 95,500 the update would allow.
The size of the change shows up in the density caps. The adopted 1998 plan set maximums of 29 units per acre in residential zones and 73 units per acre for commercial mixed-use projects. The draft's residential bands go much higher. The two High bands run from 110 to 145 and from 146 to 218 units per acre, and the four Medium bands cover 30 to 109.
Neighborhood leaders quoted by the Union-Tribune described the parks, libraries and other amenities as a wish list that may never be built without funding. The Normal Heights items on that list are specific. The City's draft park inventory proposes three new parks and one expansion:
- a 4.48-acre Eugene Place Neighborhood Park at the Eugene Place cul-de-sac overlooking SR-15
- a 0.24-acre Cromwell Court Pocket Park with canyon views
- a 0.30-acre Postal Pocket Park on the Adams Avenue post office site, only if the post office stops operating
- an 11.88-acre Teralta Neighborhood Park North Expansion between Orange and Monroe avenues
Paul Coogan chairs the Normal Heights Planning Group. He told the Union-Tribune the plan would be "a seismic shift" for the neighborhood. He said his neighbors are fine with more density, especially on major roads like El Cajon Boulevard, but he called the amenities side "underwhelming."
El Cajon Boulevard's transit and density
MTS runs Rapid 215 as a one-seat ride between SDSU and Downtown via El Cajon Boulevard and Park Boulevard. The draft calls the boulevard a Transit Corridor, with mixed commercial, office and residential development at "very high, high, or medium" densities.
California's SB 79 took effect July 1, 2026. The City's SB 79 page lists local standards by distance from qualifying stops.
The City phased that rollout. About 24 percent of affected areas took effect July 1. Other areas wait for the City's Transit Village Plan, and all Low Resource Areas are deferred to 2031.
In its June 17 letter to the City, the Normal Heights Planning Group discussed the Complete Communities Housing Solutions overlay and SB 79. The City's Information Bulletin 411 describes the optional program.
Adams Avenue's plan and Rapid 211
The draft treats Adams Avenue differently. It calls the avenue a Main Street. It proposes high- and medium-density mixed-use development near the planned Rapid 211, "while respecting the area's small lots and existing development pattern." Height and density would face Adams, with missing-middle housing stepping down to the single-family blocks behind it. The Union-Tribune reported that Adams would see denser housing but "somewhat less dramatic" changes than El Cajon, University Avenue or Fairmount Avenue.
The bus is in the regional plan. SANDAG's 2025 Regional Plan lists "Arterial Rapid 211, SDSU to Downtown via Adams Avenue" with a 2035 phase year and a $101 million cost. SANDAG's Rapid planning page lists six routes the board has funded for planning: 277, 483, 625, 640, 688 and 880. Route 211 is not one of them. The same page says planning and launching a new Rapid route "could take four years or more," depending on funding at each stage.
The Planning Group has already pushed density toward El Cajon
Local positions are on the record, and they point the same way:
- June 2, 2026. The board voted unanimously to advocate for limited density only in the southeast corner of Normal Heights, "as Kensington has done." A board member said density "will still increase along El Cajon Blvd."
- June 17, 2026. The group asked the City to adopt a transit-oriented alternative plan. The plan would adjust FAR across the RS-1-1, RM-1-1, RM-2-5, CUPD-CT-2-3 and CUPD-CT-2-4 zones, and the group also asked the City to opt out of phased implementation. The letter says a resident of the affected area spoke in favor of seeing redevelopment.
- September 1, 2026. The group's agenda scheduled a City presentation of the first draft and the group's own gap analysis.
The opt-out request would have removed the waiting period the City's phasing created for areas outside the July 1 tranche.
What happens between now and adoption
Every milestone on the near-term calendar is a planning step, and the bus for Adams Avenue sits about a decade out:
- October 2, 2026: the public comment window on the first draft closed.
- Winter 2026: a second draft with environmental analysis is due, per the City's September 18 working-group presentation.
- Spring/Summer 2027: adoption hearings are expected. KPBS reported the plan is expected at City Council in spring 2027.
- 2031: SB 79 takes effect in Low Resource Areas.
- 2035: the phase year SANDAG lists for Rapid 211.
The second draft could still change the designations on either corridor, and nothing in the plan is adopted yet. Rapid 215 already runs on El Cajon Boulevard.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Owners and buyers should confirm how SB 79, Complete Communities or the draft plan applies to a specific parcel with the City and with qualified land use counsel.
A few questions owners are asking
Is any new housing actually moving forward in the neighborhood? The San Diego Foundation lists Bridge Deck as 345 workforce homes in Normal Heights, currently in predevelopment.
Could Adams Avenue get Rapid service sooner than 2035? SANDAG lists 2035 as the phase year and says a new Rapid route takes four years or more once funding is secured. As of now, Route 211 is not on its funded planning list.
