Proposed construction at an Ocean Beach home is drawing battle lines between neighbors.
While the homeowner maintains he is within his rights and that he has obtained the proper permits and jumped through all of the legal hoops to this point, critics say the project could potentially open the door to more residential development of an area near Dog Beach, where small, one-story duplexes stand on plots of roughly 2,500 square feet.
The one-story duplex, owned by David Stebbins of 5166 West Point Loma Blvd., has come under the scrutiny of two residents who filed an appeal with the City Council in March over the Planning Commission’s decision to approve Stebbins’ plans to build a three-story, 1,749-square-foot home with an underground two-car garage.
The City Council is slated to hear the project on Thursday, Sept. 6.
On March 1, the city’s Planning Commission unanimously approved the permits necessary for Stebbins to demolish the single-story duplex and build the house.
The project requires a permit to deviate from regulations governing “special flood hazard areas” because the underground garage would sit in a 100-year floodplain, which is considered environmentally sensitive lands, according to city documents.
A previous vote by the Ocean Beach Planning Board deadlocked 4-4-0 to approve the project at a meeting in July 2006. The board also deadlocked on a vote to reject the project, according to city documents.
The planning board’s Land Use Subcommittee voted 5-0 in favor of the project, according to an executive summary.
The subsequent approval by the Planning Commission triggered an appeal from current Ocean Beach Planning Board Chair Landry Watson and Ocean Beach resident Randy Berkman, Watson said.
Watson said he is appealing the project, in part, because of a concern over the construction the parking garage in the flood plain and because of partially blocked views created by a tall building.
However, Watson contends a greater issue is at stake. He said the project could change the face of the entire neighborhood.
“Approving projects that are in clear violation of community, city and federal guidelines sets an irreversible precedent,” Watson said.
He also said the project doesn’t fit with the character of the neighborhood, which has several smaller single-story houses like Stebbins’ current duplex.
Watson said Ocean Beach has always been a small community and that OB has always favored property renovation rather than new construction.
Still, the project has already been approved by city staff and appears to comply with municipal code regulations.
Stebbins said he has had to return to the Planning Commission on two separate occasions in an effort to comply with the city’s “bulk and scale” regulations, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines governing deviation from land-use plans around flood zones. He added that no public view corridors are blocked by the project.
And as for the character of the planned development, Stebbins said several three-story complexes have already been built in Ocean Beach and that his own house would add to the character of the neighborhood ” not take away from it.
“They [appellants] just don’t want change,” Stebbins said.
He said the appellants simply want to prevent Stebbins from building the project and have no legitimate legal basis to oppose the project.
Stebbins, a 20-year Ocean Beach resident, also said the appeal is unfair, costing him an extra $20,000 to $25,000 in city staff and attorney fees to combat the action.
“They have their homes,” he said. “Why can’t I have mine?”