A home development planned for a vacant lot in La Jolla’s Country Club area that byed local review got thumbs up from a San Diego hearing officer Feb. 12.
The project would build a 4,792-square-foot two-story house over a partial basement with a 462-square-foot attached garage at the southwest end of Romero Drive, in the 7200 block. The proposal requires a variance for a reduction of the front-yard setback to four feet, where a minimum of six feet is required to accommodate drainage.
The applicant used an option to by review by La Jolla planning groups and proceed directly to a city hearing.
According to a city staff report on the project, the site — though surrounded by a hillside — is not part of the steep hillside system and does not require review under regulations for environmentally sensitive lands in the San Diego Municipal Code.
Project manager Robin McCarthy said the project meets code regulations and that staff recommended approval of the requested permits.
However, La Jolla architect Phil Merten disagreed.
“Contrary to the project manager’s statement, the project is not in conformance with the land development code,” Merten argued. He said proposed heights exceed the maximum allowed, the project doesn’t provide adequate parking and the height of the garage would block visibility where the driveway meets the street.
City Planner Lexy Hartley replied that areas that don’t comply with height requirements would be handled with variances.
If the project proceeded with a six-foot front setback, it would alter the way heights were measured and it would be out of compliance on overall structure height. With the variance granted to adjust the setback to four feet, the height would be in compliance, Hartley said.
Furthermore, she said, visibility issues were reviewed by city staff, which approved of the design.
There were additional questions about how the flow of water would be affected by the home’s construction. McCarthy said water collecting at and around the site would be pumped to a catch basin at the bottom of the street.
“There are a lot of [site] restrictions on Romero Drive … so there are going to be some unique circumstances that trigger the additional analysis and review,” said hearing officer Duke Fernandez.
However, he added, “based on the testimony of staff and project management and the project’s engineer, I can make the findings necessary to approve this project.”
Fernandez’s decision is final unless appealed to the San Diego Planning Commission within 10 days of the hearing. ♦
