A single-family home in La Playa was recently designated historic, deterring a developer’s plans to build six apartment units on the site. As an appeal works its way to the City Council, the battle of new versus old has generated concerns over the future of the neighborhood and its threshold for density.
The Historical Resources Board “” comprised of volunteers and advised by Planning Department staff “” voted 8-1 on April 27 to recognize 3035 Lawrence Street as historic because of its association with Capt. Manuel Freitas, a person of local significance who lived at the residence for 20 years. The board agreed, however, not to designate any of the home’s architectural aspects.
Freitas, the Portuguese captain of various large tuna boats, was best known for owning the 120-foot-long Navigator. Both Freitas and his boat are featured in “Rising Tide,” part of a series on San Diego’s history commissioned by James S. Copley.
The Spanish-style home in which Freitas lived was constructed in 1931 in La Playa, the second oldest neighborhood in San Diego, preceded only by Old Town. Freitas lived on Lawrence Street until 1951, when he sold the home to a family who retained it through 2004. Current owner MM Group LLC bought the property that year and in June 2005, Stosh Thomas Architects PC submitted an application for the demolition of the home and its redevelopment.
An attorney for MM Group is currently in the process of appealing the historical board’s decision, which will be heard by the City Council at a yet to be determined date.
Should the council appeal the designation, the applicant has stated their intentions to pursue the project as planned, which would require a Coastal Development Permit and a staff-level decision from the Planning Department. If the appeal is denied, the architect and developer will have to mitigate impacts to the property and apply for a Site Development Permit with Planning Commission approval.
“It requires a more lengthy and involved review process because of the designation, but it doesn’t necessarily preclude redevelopment,” said Cathy Winterowd, a senior city planner and advisor to the historical board.
Essentially, the developer might be able to tear down the house regardless of the appeal outcome.
The Lawrence Street home reluctantly came before the board after prodding from resident and local watchdog Katheryn Rhodes of www.laplayaheritage.com. She disagreed with the plans for the property and the city’s initial finding that there was no historical connection.
“It’s a Spanish Eclectic 1931 home in La Playa,” Rhodes said. “If that doesn’t need a historic report, what does?”
She gathered information on Frietas with the help of Point Loma’s Portuguese Historical Center and the United Portuguese S.E.S. Inc. to compel a review of the house.
In a letter to the board dated April 26, United Portuguese S.E.S. President Lynn Marie Reis stated that Freitas was a “historic figure in the Point Loma Portuguese community,” a founding director of the S.E.S. and a Festa president in 1934.
According to Martha Blake, city senior planner who authored the project’s Negative Declaration, her finding was based on a consultant’s report and input from staff.
“The conclusions were that the building was not historic and I went over that information and the report itself with the staff to the Historical Resources Board and they concurred,” Blake said.
In fact, the staff maintained that the home was not historic right up to the board’s April decision, citing “insufficient evidence that Capt. Manuel Freitas’ accomplishments raise him to the level of a historic person in San Diego” and “modifications to the front, side and rear of the second floor and the deteriorated condition of the house.”
The discrepancy between the staff and the board decisions is not typical, said Dan Stricker, a senior city planner overseeing the project.
“We don’t come across it that often,” Stricker said, adding that Blake and the environmental staff followed standard protocol in making their determination.
The historical question was not the first time residents and the city have disagreed about the project. The original application for a coastal permit was heard by the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) last year without the required notice of neighbors. Board members initially approved the project sans testimony from nearby property owners, who continue to oppose its bulk and scale.
Rhodes caught that mistake and pressured the city to allow the PCPB to rehear the project, which it did. The second time around, the local board advised the city not to approve the project because of concerns about setbacks, easements, underground storage tanks and size.
According to Stricker, Development Services failed to notify neighbors and the applicant failed to catch the mistake. He said the mistake was fixed and that all the project’s deviations from city code have since been rectified.
Two contentions that neither the city nor the applicant plan to address are concerns that multiple units will increase density and block views.
A change to the neighborhood’s zoning and land use plan in the 1980s introduced the possibility of apartments or condos along transportation corridors such as Rosecrans Street, though single-family homes remain on many of those properties. Some residents and community planning board members now frown upon densification, arguing that the peninsula cannot handle additional parking and traffic increases.
PCPB Chair Cynthia Conger said that just because the lot in question is zoned for apartments does not mean it’s the right thing for La Playa.
“Already it’s a crowded neighborhood, but we don’t want to make it more crowded because we love living here,” Conger said.
According to Stricker, the lot is zoned for apartments, meets parking requirements and only plans for six units when eight are allowed. It does not violate any municipal codes, he said.
But Rhodes argued that condos have not been built in the neighborhood for 16 years. And while there are apartment buildings in the vicinity of the property, they are relatively old.
Stosh Thomas project architect Jim Laffey agreed, adding that La Playa has been largely insulated from multi-unit development until now.
“They’re lucky in that there hasn’t been any development like that in 15 years,” Laffey said. “While I see all the points, I also recognize that this is pretty much what is going on everyplace else in the city.”
Because other single-family homes in the storied neighborhood are on lots zoned for multiple units, residents could face similar situations in the future.
“That ship has already sailed in that neighborhood,” Laffey said. “They may be trying to save this one property, but it effectively is a little too late to have the kind of impact they are trying to get.”