Bonita is an unincorporated community run by San Diego County, with 12,917 people at the 2020 Census. It follows about five miles of the Sweetwater River valley, from Sweetwater Reservoir down to Interstate 805, and takes its name from the Bonita lemon ranch of the 1880s — the Bonnie Brae lemon started here.
It is known as a rural, equestrian place in the middle of the suburbs. Many residents keep horses, riding trails run through the lower valley, and most homes are in neighborhoods built in the 1960s, 70s and 80s — Bonita Highlands, Bonita Long Canyon, Lynwood Hills, Rancho Robinhood and others. Rohr Park, Sweetwater Regional Park, Bonita Golf Course and the Chula Vista Municipal Golf Course are all here, and Bonitafest fills Bonita Road every early autumn.
Older homes on larger lots bring their own questions: what is permitted for horses on that parcel, the age of the roof and systems, and whether additions were permitted. Three out of four homes here are owner-occupied, which tells you how rarely some of them come up.
Buying in Bonita: what people ask first.
Can I keep horses in Bonita?
Many residents do, but it depends on the zoning and the size of the specific parcel. Check with the County of San Diego for that address before you buy with horses in mind.
People looking at Bonita usually look at these too.
- City · South Bay Chula Vista From the bayfront to the planned communities east of the 805. Read the guide →
- City · South Bay National City Victorian homes, the trolley and the bay, next door to Chula Vista. Read the guide →
- Planned community · Chula Vista Rolling Hills Ranch Hillside streets, canyon open space and Montevalle Park. Read the guide →
San Diego County looks like one market from a distance and it is not. East of the 805 in Chula Vista the houses are newer, the streets were planned, and the questions are about HOA dues, Mello-Roos and which school the address feeds. Out in El Cajon and Rancho San Diego the lots are bigger, the views run down the canyons, and the questions are about the roof, the solar, the slope and what it costs to insure. Buying the right house means asking the right questions for that side of the county — and selling one means answering them before a buyer has to ask.
Your partner in real estate, in the language you are most comfortable in.
Edgard Espinosa, Premier Properties