Two home projects that went before the La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee during its April 15 meeting are unrelated but face a similar challenge.
And while one got the committee’s to go ahead, the other will return at a future meeting for a possible vote.
Though different in their design and neighborhoods, the city of San Diego is calling for a sidewalk and curb-and-gutter system to be built as part of both projects — to the chagrin of the architects.
During the DPR Committee’s April 8 meeting, the board got a first look at one of the proposals, which would demolish a 3,881-square-foot house at 6136 La Jolla Mesa Drive and build a new 8,266-square-foot two-story house.
The project, which also includes an attached three-car garage, a new pool, a spa and landscaping, aims to keep a group of eucalyptus trees on the property. But during city reviews, officials asked for a curb, gutter and sidewalk across the length of the frontage, which would destroy the trees.
Furthermore, according to applicant representative Tim Martin, there are no other sidewalks on that side of the street.
Martin is proposing to build a curb and gutter and widen a section of the street, but not build the sidewalk.
“We’ll see how much traction we get with that,” he said at the April 15 DPR meeting.
“We have to start somewhere,” he said, and added that with past projects in the area, he “managed to get a little bit of compromise out of [the city’s department of] engineering.”
Martin displayed images of existing houses on the street to show how the proposed development would look among its neighbors, along with the landscape plan and different views of the subject property.
The DPR voted unanimously to the project with the request that the city waive the sidewalk requirement and accept the alternative Martin is proposing and work with the applicant to retain the trees.
The other project for which the city is requesting a sidewalk, curb and gutter will be returning to the committee. The proposal would build a new 5,361-square-foot house on a vacant lot with the tentative address of 1510 Copa de Oro Drive.
Applicant representative Brian Will, who is the DPR chairman and recused himself from the committee’s discussion, said the project has undergone “considerable concessions” in design in meetings with neighbors.
DPR trustee Glen Rasmussen called the design “lovely” and said it “fits well with the neighborhood.”
However, San Diego is requesting that a sidewalk be built immediately in front of the property as part of the project. Will said there are no other sidewalks on that block.
“I am going to respectfully ask the committee if they believe that having one disted section of sidewalk is keeping within the community character,” Will said. He added that the construction would “take away” from the property’s appearance.
“One of the reasons I don’t think sidewalks are justified is … the city would have to build retaining walls just to be able to level out the sidewalks,” Will said.
However, he added, if the city continues to require the sidewalk, “we are happy to comply.”
The committee asked about other proposals for which the city requested a sidewalk and whether it was willing to waive that requirement for any other project.
The board asked Will to return with more information about that, along with details about the project’s drainage plan, before it votes on it.
Next meeting: The La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee next meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, online. The agenda will be posted 72 hours in advance at lajollaa.org. ♦
