Concerns over the potential for blocked views in the Country Club area of La Jolla were voiced about a residential project that went before the La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee on Nov. 12, with the applicant team agreeing to return at a future meeting for a possible vote.
The DPR Committee reviewed a proposal to demolish a 3,500-square-foot house and build an 11,043-square-foot, two-story house (of which about 3,735 square feet would be basement) with associated site work at 7231 Encelia Drive. Plans include a pool toward the front of the house and a 500-square-foot roof deck on the north side.
Applicant representative Claude Anthony Marengo said the project would “spread the width of the lot” and that the design team tried to “pull [the house] away from certain setbacks” on the more than 14,000-square-foot lot.
However, some neighbors attending the meeting expressed concern about the size of the house, how it would affect surrounding views and how construction would be handled on the areas narrow winding roads.
Private views are not protected in development projects and cannot be considered during local reviews.
Nevertheless, regarding views, Marengo said “the [neighbors] down below see the water features and the garden and a dog run.”
As for neighbors whose views of the ocean or the nearby golf course might be blocked, Marengo said “No matter what I do, when I raise that roof, views start to go.”
Some in attendance also expressed concern about the overall size of the house, especially given that the property abuts a development with smaller houses. But Marengo argued that the projects square footage above the basement is comparable to its neighbors on Encelia Drive.
DPR Chairman Brian Will, a local architect, said “we have faced other projects before where one neighborhood is distinctly different from the neighborhood that it backs up to. Encelia Drive has a lot of very large homes, and immediately behind that is the development [where some opponents of the project live] that has much more modest homes. So it might be difficult to see what is typical within [the city of San Diego-required] 300-foot radius and what is appropriate.”
The board wanted more information about construction management and drainage plans and asked the applicant to return at a later date for more review.
The La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee meets Nov. 12 at The Bishops School. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)
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Another project heard during the Nov. 12 meeting also will be returning. This one, proposed for 7227 Fairway Road, would demolish an approximately 4,800-square-foot two-story house and build a 6,958-square-foot two-story house with a basement.
The exterior materials are still being decided but likely would feature stone and concrete with accents.
Applicant representative Shani Sparks said the project would regrade the slope on the rear of the property to reduce the steepness and extend the backyard, and would remove some of the backfill to accommodate the basement.
“The bad soil on the property is the thing that [requires] intervention,” Sparks said. “If the bad soil wasn’t there, it would be a relatively [simple] project to build a basement.”
The board asked for a construction management plan and more information about landscaping and hardscape on the property. The proposal will return at a future meeting for a possible vote. 