Planning Commission denies appeal that would violate city code, even though it would keep sandy beach space open. Two new senior planners are hired.
By Sylvie Belmond/ Special to The Malibu Times
The Planning Commission on Monday denied an appeal that requested a special circumstance exemption for two beachfront homes height apportionments in the Las Flores/Big Rock area.
The applicant wanted to keep a large portion of the homes’ second story even if the height did not match city code requirements because he had reduced the bottom floor plans.
The city’s code dictates strict requirements for beachfront homes. The height of the structures is based partially on the street level and partially on the beach-side level. The beach-side requirements are lower to minimize public beach view impacts while the side closer to the street can be higher.
The applicant, Lynn Heacox, who came on behalf of the Von Oppenheim Trust, owner of the property, said if allowed to keep the height request, they would not build out as far on the beach side as permitted.
Heacox pleaded his case in an illustrative manner, using boxes, towels and a carpet that looked like a road, hoping to convince the commission the houses he had designed were created with the intent to preserve as much sandy beach as possible.
That is why the structures, located at 20726 and 20732 Pacific Coast Highway, do not go all the way to the stringline of the properties, he explained, although they could. The stringline demarks the boundaries by which a beachfront home can be built, based on neighboring homes’ boundaries.
But his design, which eliminated some of the proposed homes’ beach ward portions, now made the houses’ second floors too large as they were out of proportion with the first stories of the structures.
“It’s an interesting problem,” said Commissioner Ed Lipnick, puzzled about what to do because he agreed the idea is of benefit since it minimizes construction on the sandy beach.
Planning Director Drew Purvis suggested that residents in the area could ask for a district overlay, which would allow them to flex the rules, but others contended this would take too much time.
In the end, the three planning commissioners present at the Monday night meeting, voted to turn down the request because it was hypothetical rather than actual.
The code is clear, they said. A structure’s height should be apportioned based on the structure’s size as it is proposed, not as hypothetically allowed.
Large home approved, despite excessive grading
In other matters, the Planning Commission effortlessly approved a 10,477 square foot house on Delaplane Road despite the excess grading requirements for a long driveway.
Eighty-two percent of the grading for the project is going to be done for the driveway, which has to be 20 feet wide and provide a fire truck turn-about as required by the fire department.
Architect Tim McNamara designed the house, located on an 8.32-acre lot. It will be 28 feet in height and feature a separate guesthouse, a two-car garage, retaining walls and a pool.
The commission also gave a nod of approval to the city’s capital improvement program plan. Among other things, the plan includes trail rehabilitation in Charmlee Park, the development and acquisition of linear wetlands and trails in the Civic Center area, annual street pavement rehabilitation, road realignments, draining improvements and storm drain treatment facilities.
New planners hired
The city hired two new senior planners, Stacy Rice and Scott Albright.
Albright worked as a senior planner in Las Vegas and served on the Planning Commission in North Las Vegas.
Rice worked for the cities of Ventura and Santa Barbara as a senior planner, and currently teaches urban studies and planning courses at California State University, Northridge as an adjunct professor.
As she observed the Planning Commission at work for the first time, Rice said, “I thought it was fascinating,” although she admits the job will not be easy.
At its next meeting, the commission will have two new planning commissioners, appointed by recently elected city councilmembers Sharon Barovsky and Andrew Stern.