Council denies house plan

A proposed hillside residence on Ceanothus Drive violates city plan, the city manager says.City Manager Ken Frank’s strong resistance to a proposal for a major residential project on Ceanothus Drive carried the day with City Council.

At its Oct. 18 meeting, the council unanimously supported Frank’s opposition to the South Laguna project. The plan earlier was approved by the design review board, but that decision was appealed by neighbors.

“I don’t see how you can approve this project and say with a straight face that it is in accordance with the city plan,” Frank told the council.

The proposal for the 4.85-acre site at 31362 Ceanothus Drive, designed by architect Kirk Saunders, included a 7,288-square-foot single-family residence, another residential unit of 640 square feet and a 1,295-square-foot garage.

A 1,500 foot driveway, which would have required a variance to intrude into a watercourse, would have snaked up the hillside.

The size of the residence disturbed neighbors, who said it was not compatible with nearby homes. But it was not the size of the home and certainly not the design that raised Frank’s hackles: Location and access were the bugaboos.

“If you approve this project,” Frank told the council, “you will contravene 25 years of history. The city has never approved a road anywhere near this. The road is inimical to the general plan. We also have a history of not allowing variances on new construction. The project also violates other policies -- that amount of grading on hillsides is discouraged.

“I have been aware of this project for awhile, and I should have compelled staff to prepare a report for DRB [design review board],” Frank said. “I never thought it would get approved, so I dropped the ball.”

A parade of opponents, including the two neighbors who appealed the design review board approval, had presented petitions against the project and discussed the large size of the project in comparison to the smaller homes on much smaller lots on surrounding streets.

“The council approved a large project on Eagle Rock that [then Councilman] Wayne Baglin made the mistake of calling a neighborhood all by itself,” South Laguna resident Tom Slattery said. “He’s not here tonight, and that may be relevant.”

South Laguna Civic Association member Bill Rihn said the proposed project moved access to hiking trails to a location he believes the county would never approve.

Architect Saunders, who represented property owner Bryan Mashian at the meeting, said the neighbors had brought up nothing new.

“This was all brought up at DRB and at the open space committee, and they approved it,” Saunders said. “The lot coverage counting the house, the garage, terraces, patio, pool and second unit totals less that 5 percent of the lot.”

The project was approved by the design review board on a 2-1 vote, with two abstentions.

A biological assessment, hydrology analysis, geotechnical report and water quality management plan were submitted and reviewed in conjunction with the project.

Councilwoman Toni Iseman said Saunders’ design reminded her of Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous prairie-style homes.

“This is beautiful, and I’d like to see more like it -- only not on steroids,” Iseman said.

Passionate project opponents, who sometimes -- even often -- find themselves opposing Frank’s positions, sat stunned as he eschewed dramatics and quoted precise code sections the project violated.

“I have been on the council seven years, and I think this may be Ken’s finest hours,” Iseman said.

“In my 11 years on the council, I think this is the finest example of [Frank’s] leadership we’ve seen,” Dicterow said.

Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider said the project was an indication that the council needed to provide guidelines for neighborhood compatibility.

“Does the guy with the big lot have to build the same size home as the guy next door with a small lot?” Pearson-Schneider said. “It is sad that so much effort and resources were put into this project. It’s not fair.”

However, the council’s verdict on the project was so decisive that Pearson-Schneider didn’t offer the usual, but not mandatory, option of returning the project to the design review board.