Accessory dwelling unit development continues to surge in San Diego after years of changes that made them easier to build.

Why it matters: State officials have long pushed ADUs as a partial fix to California's housing crisis because they're relatively cheap to build, make efficient use of already-developed land and don't require infrastructure upgrades.

State of play: Granny flat permits nearly tripled last year, from 651 to 1,907, and represented almost 20% of all new-housing permits issued in the city's best year for housing development in decades.

By the numbers: In 2015, the city issued just four ADU permits. That figure jumped to 627 in 2019 as city planners reduced fees, expanded where ADUs could be built, streamlined approvals, eliminated parking requirements and more.

Zoom in: San Diego planners have received a lot of credit — and criticism — for a policy that lets developers build apartments in backyards via the state's ADU law.

• The 2021 "ADU bonus program" allows owners to build an extra unit for each ADU they agree to reserve for renters earning below a certain income threshold.
• In areas with frequent public transit service, the total ADUs on the property are limited only by other regulations, like building height.

Yes, but: Despite significant praise and opposition, the program does not yet represent a large share of the city's ADU permits.

• Of the aforementioned 1,907 permits issued last year, just 151, or about 8%, came from the bonus program.
• That could be changing, though. Only a few dozen permits were issued in 2021 and 2022.

Friction point: The city issued permits last year for 87 ADUs with income restrictions for future renters, but nearly all of those were for so-called moderate incomes, or people earning up to 110% of the area median.

The other side: Neighbors for a Better San Diego, a neighborhood group opposed to the city's development deregulation spur, argues the program just inflates the cost of starter homes.

What we're watching: "With every change, you have to wait a number of years before a homeowner learns of it, understands it, gets financing and goes through with it," Heidi Vonblum, the city's planning director, told Axios.

Go deeper

San Diego residents' homebuying power has seen one of the largest declines among major U.S. cities in the past half century, according to an Axios analysis of a RealtyHop study.

Why it matters: In San Diego's expensive housing market, buying a house isn't as easy today as for previous generations.

Zoom in: Homebuying power is the ratio of annual income versus the average house price in 1970 (when baby boomers started buying starter homes) compared to 2022.

• In the San Diego metro area, it decreased nearly 70% from 1970 to 2022.

By the numbers: In 1970, a house in San Diego County was $22,500 and the median family income was $10,166.

• In 2022, a house was $783,300 and the median family income was $115,908.

Reality check: Mortgage rates were in the double digits in the 1970s and 80s. Today, they're hovering around 7%.

The big picture

🚲 A San Diego nonprofit for e-bikes faces multiple investigations, including a criminal probe by the California Department of Justice. (Union-Tribune)

⛪The Catholic Diocese of San Diego plans to file for bankruptcy today as part of an effort to settle hundreds of legal claims from alleged sexual abuse victims. (City News Service)

🦠 COVID-19 cases are spreading in San Diego, thanks to a new variant known as FLiRT. (NBC 7)

Longtime San Diego chef Stefani De Palma led Team USA to a gold medal in Thursday's qualifying round in New Orleans of the world's "most rigorous culinary competition."

Why it matters: Team USA now heads to Lyon, France, for the Bocuse d'Or finals in January.

Driving the news: De Palma, the first female chef to lead Team USA in 23 years, bested the competition in this round, but teams from Canada, Mexico, Chile and Colombia will also head to France.

• Canada and Mexico won silver and bronze, respectively, while Chile and Colombia are wild-card qualifiers.

Zoom in: De Palma was chef de cuisine at Addison when it became the only San Diego restaurant to earn three Michelin stars.

Go deeper

Seems everyone is talking about Angry Pete's, the Detroit-style pizza place that quickly grew from a pop-up vendor in 2020 to having five shops around town.

Dig in: Axios Portland co-author Meira Gebel vacationed in San Diego last week for her birthday, so we dragged her to the Point Loma Angry Pete's nestled inside the dive bar Desi's just outside Liberty Station.

• The newest location, which opened in March in Kearny Mesa, is — unmistakably — in an old Taco Bell building.

Best bites: We grabbed a whole (four-slice) pepperoni pizza, thinking it would provide the best baseline from which to judge a new, highly touted joint.

• It boasted a perfectly crispy crust that defines Detroit style.
• Even better, it came with Ezzo pepperoni — the variety that cooks into grease-filled cups with charred edges — which could turn a Tombstone into a delicacy.

The bottom line: Angry Pete's deserves the hype — crispy on the edge and chewy in the middle, it's a quintessential Detroit–style pizza.

• We're not ready to render a verdict between it and downtown's TNT Pizza. They're neck and neck.