The Land Development Code (LDC) contains regulations for the development and use of property, including zoning, subdivisions and other related land use activities. The City Planning Department monitors and continually updates the code to simplify and streamline the permitting processes, assure compliance with state and federal regulations, eliminate unnecessary barriers, redundancies and contradictions, and align the code with the City's climate, equity, and housing goals.

For questions about LDC updates, please email developmentcode@sandiego.gov.

2026 Land Development Code Update

The City Planning Department has renamed the current code update as the 2026 Land Development Code (LDC) Update. The updated name reflects the anticipated year of approval, expected to occur in Spring 2026. The scope, content, and public process remains unchanged for the code updates initiated in 2025 and previously named the 2025 LDC Update. Future documents will be titled 2026 Land Development Code Update when posted.

The draft code language and the discussion draft lists of the Citywide and Downtown amendments for the Land Development Code (LDC) Update were made available for public review in November 2025. The LDC is a part of the San Diego Municipal Code and includes regulations governing the development and use of property within the City. 

The 2026 LDC Update includes a total of 139 proposed amendments: 107 Citywide and 32 Downtown-specific amendments. The draft code language and the discussion draft lists are intended to support early public engagement and are anticipated to be refined based on public feedback received.

NEW Overview Video of the LDC Update

A video overview of the LDC Update is available, highlighting the most significant code amendments and summarizing the intent of the amendments. View the LDC Update Video.

The following draft code language and discussion draft lists of the Citywide and Downtown amendments retain 2025 dates, reflecting when the materials were originally released as the content to-date remains unchanged.

Citywide Amendments

LDC Update Citywide List - Discussion Draft (11/5/25)

LDC Update Citywide Code Language Draft (11/5/25)

Downtown Amendments

LDC Update Downtown List - Discussion Draft (11/5/25)

LDC Update Downtown Code Language Draft (11/5/25)

LDC Update Downtown Item 21 - Downtown Community Plan Amendments Draft (11/5/25)

Outreach

We continue to value input. The comment portal for the 2026 LDC Update draft documents is closed. If you missed the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft documents through the comment portal, please email the LDC team at developmentcode@sandiego.gov. Please note that any comments and questions emailed to the team will not be uploaded online.

Two public workshops, with identical information presented at both, were held in January to gather input and answer questions on the LDC Update. 

• Workshop #1 - Virtual

  Tuesday, January 13, 2026

  LDC Update Virtual Workshop PowerPoint 01/13/26 

  Virtual Workshop Recording (passcode: L2PvVtv#)

• Workshop #2 - Virtual

  Thursday, January 15, 2026

  LDC Update Virtual Workshop PowerPoint 01/15/26

  Virtual Workshop Recording (passcode: Sj90Rcp@)

Current Single- Issue Updates

The City Planning Department processes single-issue updates and amendments to the LDC as needed. For various reasons, including time sensitivity and/or complexity, single-issue updates may be processed separately from a comprehensive code update.

There are no single-issue LDC updates currently being processed.