Halting ‘mansionization’

Barbara Diamond

The “Mansionization” of Laguna rose out of the ashes of the 1993

fires. Monstrous homes were built to replace the homes that burned. As

buildable lots became more rare, buyers began to snap up Laguna’s

“charmers” with an eye to converting the cottages to castles.

The cumulative effect on neighborhoods and the city as a whole came to

be called mansionization. It was a hot topic during the Vision Laguna

process, and a growing concern to city officials. “In the Charm House

Tour this month, we saw homeowners who perfected beautiful, old cottages

and made them very comfortable without destroying the essence of the

neighborhood,” said Council woman Toni Iseman. “People could take a tour

of Corona del Mar and see for themselves what could happen to our

neighborhoods.”

The Planning Commission will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m., Monday

in the City Council Chamber, 505 Forest Ave. to review the

recommendations it will make to the City Council to halt the

mansionization of Laguna Beach. The public is urged to attend.

“This is the public’s opportunity to hear what is being discussed, and

to express their opinions,” said environmental activist Carolyn Wood.

The Planning Commission spent 10 months and held 10 meetings to

research the city’s zoning code for areas that needed revision. The

zoning code is what governs what a property owner can build, where they

can build it and how big it can be. The city’s Design Review Board

approves or denies proposed projects based on the code.

“We are making recommendations intended to try to clarify the design

review process, to make it more easily understood by the public and the

board,” said veteran Planning Commissioner Norm Grossman.

The commission’s first task was to define mansionization.

“Mansionization has been a concern since the 1980s and probably since the

town was incorporated,” Grossman said. “We made the philosophical

decision that mansionization is the building’s appearance of size rather

than the actual size -- and its compatibility with its neighbors. If it

sticks out, it will appear larger.”

Commissioner Anne Johnson disagreed, saying that she didn’t think the

group looked at appearance as the primary issue. “But what we did feel

from the very beginning was that we had to lighten up the design review

process,” she said.

Additional recommendations the commission made include:

* Panoramic photographs of the entire street-scape to be included in

the application.

* If the street is obscured by vegetation, include an aerial

photograph, which is available at City Hall.

* Computer models to give street-scape and uphill perspectives.

* More staff reports for the board, particularly when variances or lot

line combinations are involved.

* Decks would have to be within the allowable envelope of height and

lot coverage.

* Sideyard setbacks would increase in relationship to height

increases.

* Maximum heights would be limited to 35 feet.

“In recent years, some houses have been allowed to exceed the 30-foot

limit on residences by 10 or 15 feet,” Grossman said. “It was justified

by the code allowing modifications to improve neighbors’ views, to admit

more light and airspace or as a trade-off for modifications the design

review board wanted.”

One of the recommendations expected to be tough for the council to

swallow is two-car garages for all single-family residences, regardless

of size.

“Garages are ugly,” Grossman said. “And the number of garages cannot

be determined by the number of bedrooms or square footage of a home.”

Occupancy is not always dictated by size, he pointed out -- six people

could sleep in one bedroom and one person could occupy a

5,000-square-foot home.

The complexity of the zoning code, even after recommended

simplifications, concerns Grossman.

“I don’t think the average person in town can do anything, even the

smallest addition, without professional guidance,” he said.

Design Review Board members asked the commission for more tools, but

in many cases they already have the tools, Grossman and Johnson said.

They just don’t know it.

“Envelopes are maximums, not guarantees,” said Johnson. “The board can

just say no.”

It is the council that will make the final decision on the

recommendations proposed by the commission to maintain the character of

the town, if not the size of each component. Monday’s commission meeting

is expected to be the final review of the recommendations and the last

chance for folks to add their input before the proposals for zoning

amendments and mansionization-minimization are forwarded to the council.

For more information, call 497-0361.

* BARBARA DIAMOND is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot.

She may be reached at 494-4321.