La Jolla developers recommend Windansea belvedere, Marengo defends Coast Walk house

At its Dec. 11 meeting, the La Jolla Development Permit Review (DPR) Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the City approve reconstructing the historic Windansea belvedere shade structure built adjacent to the Kolmar Street stairs around 1912 and, if at all permissible, to expedite the process.

The belvedere, one of five original shade structures, was torn down in 1982 during an act of vandalism. (A La Jolla Light article on Oct. 7, 1982 reported police saying that “chains attached to a vehicle were used to haul down the public structure.”)Its replacement, first promised by lifeguards at the time, never materialized due to lack of funding. However, as applicant Melinda Merryweather explained, Friends of Windansea will pay for the entire project now.

(La Jolla Parks & Beaches already endorsed the project and the La Jolla Community Planning Association ratified the request, voting to send a letter to the California Coastal Commission indicating the intention to rebuild the belvedere.)

Rastetter Cabana

Land-use attorney Matt Peterson and his co-presenter, Paul Vaughan, requested DPR’s recommendation for a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) to remove an existing 3,355-square foot one-story and construct a 905-square-foot, one-bedroom dwelling with two onsite parking spaces and a spa at 303 Sea Lane.

“I never get to stand up here asking for a smaller house,” Peterson joked.

They also seek a lot-tie agreement, Peterson explained, since their client bought the lot next door and wants to use it just for additional space and guest quarters.

“If we could get everyone there to do that, I think the property values would probably quadruple,” trustee Mike Costello said .

Trustee Diane Kane thought the project could be fast-tracked, but was advised by Costello: “We have a policy, the first house on the ocean like this, we don’t do that.”

DPR chair Brian Will replied: “We’ve also never had a situation where the structure fits entirely within the outline of what’s already there.”

The committee told the presenters to return to the next DPR meeting with a cycle-issues report from the City, in addition to cross-sections and a landscape plan.

Brodiaea Way Residence

Presenter Claude-Anthony Marengo requested a recommendation for a CDP and Site Development Permit to demolish an existing residence and construct a 15,670-square-foot, two-story house with a basement garage and a 738-square-foot detached pool house at 7362 Brodiaea Way.The committee asked to be shown photos and two section diagrams next time.

Marengo defends 1590 Coast Walk

During the public comment section at the top of the meeting, DPR member Diane Kane addressed a development at 1590 Coast Walk, which is drawing protests from neighbors about its scale — especially because it blocks what was once a narrow view of the ocean. (The house, being developed by Marengo Morton Architects and Dodd and Associates Engineering, was originally approved locally more than 10 years ago and has undergone City-approved changes ever since, before getting the green light to proceed with current construction plans.)

“Can we investigate what happened on that project?” Kane asked.Marengo replied that it came through DPR twice and complies with all code, and that it meets all view corridor requirements.

“It’s identical to what this committee approved,” Marengo said.

The only problem, according to Marengo, is that the scaffolding unintentionally came down. “We still have to do stone and spandrel windows on the (street) side, so it looks like a box,” he said, “but it’s intended to have windows all on that side — just not functional windows.”

Marengo explained that there won’t be real windows so the concrete can block street noise.

— DPR next meets 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8 at the La Jolla Rec Center, 615 Prospect St.