Mansionization issues dominate future plan

The pace of revisions to the land usage part of the city’s general plan drew mixed reviews from a citizens panel this week.

The panel held a discussion on the topic for Village Laguna members on Monday.

Cities are required to adopt a general plan, which includes seven mandated elements. Laguna Beach’s land use element was last updated 23 years ago.

Former Laguna Beach planning commissioner and past Village Laguna President Doug Reilly moderated the discussion.

“The element is one of several documents used to shape Laguna,” Reilly said. “It is the key to how we will look in the future.”

The element consists of the policies which govern land-use ordinances. A Planning Commission sub-committee has been gathering public comment to produce a draft element, which will be heard by the full commission and, when approved, sent on to the City Council. City Council members have the final say on the changes.

Longtime Commissioner Norm Grossman was on the panel that reported Monday on the revision process.

Also on the panel were former planning commissioners Becky Jones and Wayne Peterson ? who also served on the City Council for eight years ? Village Laguna founder Arnold Hano and resident Ed Almanzo, who have been attending the sub-committee meetings.

Village Laguna President Anne Caenn said the panel was asked to lead the discussion to encourage more comment on the revisions.

“We started this [revision] process in 2004,” Grossman said. “There are nine chapters. Revisions to chapters three, four and five have been adopted.”

About a year ago, the sub-committee began addressing goals.

“Now we are working on actions ? the implementation of the goals,” Grossman said.

The complete package probably will be ready for the council by the end of the year, Grossman said.

“There is lots of time for community input,” Grossman said.

Jones is among the community members who contributed input.

“I wanted to make sure the previous protections stayed in place and to identify some problems the element didn’t previously address,” Jones said.

One of her concerns is lot coverage ? the percentage of allowable footprint of a structure on a parcel that is set in the city code. Her point was that large lots do not justify large homes if the structure is not appropriate in its neighborhood or is unsafe.

“We talked about mansionization and the sense that the problem was solved ? I am not so sure,” Jones said. “Otherwise, why would be see a 9,000-square-foot home with a 2,000-square-foot garage approved?”

The city’s mansionization ordinance mandates neighborhood compatibility, but does not set a citywide, square-foot size limit.

“I am really big on neighborhood compatibility,” Peterson said. “But we have to decide how big is too big. Some feel 7,000 square feet is too big, but 14,000 is always too big.

“We have to start saying no.”

Peterson suggested taking the average size of the homes in the noticing area of development ? presently a 300-foot circle ? and using that as the base for approval. However, the area to be noticed could contain more than one distinct neighborhood.

Hano researched the land use elements of 30 cities to get a handle on how other communities deal with similar issues..

“The largest home allowed in any of the cities was 7,000 square feet ? that is 10,000 square feet less than Mar Vista,” Hano said, referring to a hilltop residential project that has generated considerable controversy. “The noise element is quantified, but when we are talking about mansionization, there is no quantifying.”

Jones called for a groundswell of support for specific building limits, which was enthusiastically endorsed by Village Laguna members at the meeting.

That may be a hard sell to property owners, however, who pay high prices for their properties and want a big home to reflect the cost, Grossman said.

The council should set maximum limits on square-footage regardless of lot size or opposition by owners, Hano said.

To date, 27 meetings have been held on the land use element revisions.

The next subcommittee meeting is at 3 p.m., Friday, May 5, in Conference Room A at City Hall, 515 Forest Ave. For more information, contact city planner Carolyn Martin at cmartin@lagunabeachcity.net or by calling (949) 497-0398.