OB Rag Holds ‘Worst ADU’ Contest to Spotlight ‘Predatory Construction’

The OB Rag is holding a contest and inviting submissions from the public to identify the “Worst ADU” in San Diego county.

Until Friday, Aug. 23, The OB Rag is looking for the worst accessory dwelling units (ADU) in the city. Winners will receive gift cards to a variety of local restaurants.

The contest is an effort to raise public awareness about the real-world impacts of what critics call predatory construction of ADUs, including the construction of multi-story apartments and large-scale home projects crammed into tiny areas of a neighborhood.

“There has been a lot of enthusiasm and appreciation (about the contest) from people who live near giant ADUs and feel like they’re invisible,” said Rag reporter Kate Callen. “This monstrous thing goes up, and you have to live in the shadow of it. I think that that’s the worst feeling, is that people feel like collateral damage.”

ADUs have been a discussion as many large-scale apartment buildings and homes appear in neighborhoods across the city, often times at the expense of the comfort, aesthetic and even property of the neighborhood.

“I don’t think most people want big ADUs,” Callen said. “I mean the whole, the whole point of the granny flat was maybe a bungalow in your backyard where your elderly mother could live, or where your adult child could live. This (contest) is about the what are essentially apartment buildings, and in some cases, mansionettes.”

The inspiration behind the contest came about during a brainstorming session at The OB Rag, when Callen, along with other staff members at the Rag, started discussing how many different cities across the county they had seen suffer under the hands of massive ADUs, and how many individual people and families who the staff had heard complaints from.

“There’s this couple in my neighborhood who’s been together over 30 years and married for many years.” Callen said. “They’ve been living in the house together, and every night when they get home from work, they go out to their back porch and watch the sun set. Suddenly an ADU goes up. The tradition’s gone. This has been part of their daily lives for years, and and it’s all because somebody behind them just wanted to put up a two story building to make money. So much of this is driven by greed.”

To be nominated, participants must send an email to obragblog@gmail.com including street address and neighborhood of the ADU, general description, why this structure is a blight on your neighborhood, photo(s) of the ADU. Participants can provide name and contact information, but it has been made optional.

A panel of judges will choose semi-finalists from across San Diego. Final selections will be based on site visits and interviews with neighbors. Judging criteria will fall into three categories: physical size of the property, the aesthetics, and the impact on the neighborhood.

While some people, including ADU builders and supporters of ADU builders, immediately voiced their opposition, calling the contest “insulting” and “tone-deaf,” many members of the community reacted positively to news of the contest expressed gratitude.

“We’re doing the contest basically to say to people you know, you are being heard. Your complaints are real and and we want to give them attention.” Callen said. “And this contest is a way of saying to the city at large, you know, these ADUs, these monstrous ADUs, are hurting real people.”

Judges will conduct site visits of the entries from Aug. 24-31 before making selections for the Gold, Silver and Bronze categories. Winners will be announced by Sep. 7 in a post at The Rag