City panel seeks curbs on oversized houses

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- One family’s dream home can be a neighbor’s worst

nightmare -- a problem summed up in older parts of the city as

“mansionization.”

In hopes of putting the brakes on the phenomenon of building huge

homes on relatively small lots, a resolution of the city’s Environmental

Quality Affairs Citizens Advisory Committee will ask the City Council on

Tuesday to have city workers look into whether design standards can be

set for the city.

“It’s changing the character of neighborhoods by putting huge mansions

on 30-foot lots,” said Elaine Lindhoff, a member of the committee who

said that more and more three-story homes with decks on top are cropping

up in her Peninsula Point neighborhood. “These houses dwarf the two-story

houses on either side.”

Those who agree it’s a problem -- and not everyone does -- disagree

about how to address it. Some say the city should act now to put design

standards in place. Others say that’s what the city’s general plan update

process is for.

The city does have the option of crafting zoning ordinances and other

guidelines that could rein in the phenomenon, said Assistant City Manager

Sharon Wood, but it’s up to the council to decide whether that’s the best

way to approach it.

“It came up as a concern at almost every community workshop,” City

Councilman Steve Bromberg said. “People are definitely concerned about

it.”

Most parts of the city allow a house’s square footage to be double the

buildable area of the lot. Technically, this means that a two-story house

could cover the entire ground of the lot it sits on, not counting

setbacks. A three-story house would have to be somewhat narrower to keep

within the same square footage requirements. On Balboa Island, Bromberg’s

district, standards are a little more strict because of the terrain of

the island neighborhood. The house size can only be 1 1/2 times the

buildable land area.

Though “mansionization” per se is not taking place there to a

significant degree, Bromberg said innovative architecture is resulting in

three-story houses being built on the island that are within the 29-foot

height limit and other city standards. Bromberg said he is considering

opposing such three-story structures on Balboa Island.