Board approves single-residence neighborhood

Mike Swanson

One of the largest homes in Laguna Beach -- so large, it is said to

be its own neighborhood -- as been approved to be built in the hills

just above Mar Vista Avenue in South Laguna.

The Design Review Board approved plans for the 11,333-square-foot

house and 4,769-square-foot garage designed by architect James

Goodman, with 31 conditions. The City Council modified three

conditions and added three more. Goodman has said he doesn’t know the

identity of his client, who is rumored to be a celebrity.

South Laguna residents came in droves to the council’s June 17

appeal of the design review decision, but council members said it

came to late.

“It’s unfortunate that people wait so long, then come to City

Council,” Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman said. “We really like to see

both sides of a project, especially one this size, going through [the

Design Review Board] to get it settled.”

Review Board member Ilse Lenschow said her decision to approve the

project had little to do with the lack of input and more to do with

the project in comparison to the size of the lot, which is 11.89

acres.

“The lot size was an issue, and the design was so sensitive to the

area after the architect’s last hearing,” Lenschow said. “The square

footage is irrelevant.”

More geological and hydrological studies of the area need to be

conducted before Goodman is granted a building permit. Lenschow

guessed that construction would begin in about six months barring an

unexpected environmental problem.

South Laguna residents, meanwhile, are livid with the project’s

approval.

“I don’t know how the City Council or the [Design Review Board]

could possibly say this project is compatible with the neighborhood,”

said Ginger Osborne, president of Village Laguna and former president

of the South Laguna Civic Assn. “The living space alone is twice the

size of the largest houses in the area, and it’s more than three

times the size, including its enormous garage and everything else

they want to build.

“This is a mansion, not a house, and the council’s decision does

not reflect values expressed in the Vision process,” Osborne said.

Lenschow agreed with Councilman Wayne Baglin’s assertion at the

council meeting that “the house is in its own neighborhood.”

South Laguna residents are worried that the decision will set a

precedent for other large-scale projects in Laguna Beach in

neighborhoods comprised of smaller houses.

Osborne said she doesn’t know what residents can do at this point

to curb the project, but she plans to monitor the design board and

city staff more closely in the future, looking for inconsistencies.

“Everybody wants everything to stay open space, but it’s

unrealistic,” Lenschow said. “It’s better to have one sensitive owner

on a property than five or six insensitive owners. I kept in mind all

along during the process, ‘What do [the buyers] want to accomplish?’

I believe this will be a person who’s buying in the area because they

love the area are sensitive to preserving it.”