Home plan rejected by council

A proposed Montage Estate home with a basement bigger than many Laguna Beach homes failed to make the grade with the City Council.

The proposed home — which includes a 2,600-square-foot basement to house mechanicals and provide storage — was returned at the July 18 council meeting to the Design Review Board, which had already denied it.

“A 2,600-square-foot area could probably run a hotel,” Councilwoman Toni Iseman said.

Project architect William Peters said the board denied the project because it failed to see the benefits of the basement, which would be totally underground and would conceal and muffle the sound of equipment, such as air conditioning, which is designed for room-by-room control.

No variances from code were requested. The visible portion of the home has less square footage than surrounding homes in the posh development, Peters said.

The board held three hearings on the project proposed for 7 Atelier, which drew a large number of neighbors, concerned about impacts on their views. The original application for a 13,015-square-foot home was reduced to 9,846 square feet, including the basement.

Previously approved homes in Montage Estate have been in the 7,000-square-foot range, city zoning administrator Liane Schuller said.

Only one-third of the square footage proposed for the Atelier home is visible above grade, according to Peters.

“The basement is totally subterranean,” Peters said. “There are no windows in it and no opportunity to ever be living space. This would be the smallest visible house approved to date.

“We expected a quick approval by the board.”

Only board member Steven Kawaratani voted in favor of the project and then only after suggesting changes, such as snipping off a corner of the home to help preserve the view for the next-door lot.

Morris Skenderian, who reviews all proposed Montage homes for compliance with neighborhood guidelines, said the proposed house was consistent with the guidelines for Montage Estate homes, which he helped craft. “We were never concerned with below-grade square footage,” Skenderian said. “We were most concerned that projects have the appearance of being one-story, with a maximum height of 18 feet at the center and 12 feet on the sides.”

Skenderian said guidelines for subterranean areas in the Montage Estates were never considered because of the expense of placing rooms underground.

“This project should be applauded,” Lagunitas resident Kevin Johnson said. “I have to rent storage because I don’t have enough. But you bring up a good point: you haven’t seen this before.”

Changes proposed at design review hearings were not incorporated into the plans because the board denied the project.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider, who said she could support the home with the recommendations made by Kawaratani, said she would withdraw her support if grading for the building pads is not what was originally approved.

Bari Burns, speaking on behalf of numerous owners of the Blue Lagoon condo complex adjacent to Montage, asked the council to direct staff to produce stamped grading master plans, which the council did. She said her group questions whether the pads were graded as proposed.

Burns also said the council had accepted the approval of a large home on two merged estate lots and hoped the council would stand behind the board on the denial of the Atelier project.

Wylie Aitken, president of the Montage Villas Homeowners Association, also spoke against the project — although a spokesman on his behalf had supported it at the last hearing if suggested change were made.

“Significant verbal changes never got into the plans and that is a concern that has to be corrected,” attorney Gene Gratz said. “My clients are concerned about the impact of this home on their community. A smaller home than this was built on two [merged] lots.”

Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman recused herself from the hearing when she realized a client of her company was involved.

The council first voted 2-2, to deny the appeal and return the project to the board — an automatic denial of the motion. The item was reopened to rephrase the motion so the project could go back to the board.