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.”
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