Plans to construct a new $10 million, 21,000-square-foot library and learning center at The Bishop’s School have been at least temporarily derailed, following a La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) decision earlier this month to deny the institution a height variance for the project with an 8-6 vote. “The existing library is in a portion of an 80-plus-year-old building,” said Christopher Neils, an attorney representing The Bishop’s School. “It is cramped and far less than ideal, and does not offer much in the way of areas for students to gather and study together.” The new facility — consisting of a basement and two above-ground levels — would include a library plus classrooms, quiet study areas and group meeting rooms with individual computer docking stations. Despite a unanimous recommendation from the Development and Permit Review subcommittee — which recommended a 2.1-foot variance instead of the 4-foot variance Bishop’s originally requested — the LJCPA voted to deny any variance because some board members feared it could set a precedent for future applicants. “I understand the concern about setting a precedent,” Neils said. “But in terms of real impact, this is a not-for-profit educational institution in the cultural zone of La Jolla, surrounded by other buildings that already exceed the project’s height by 15 or 20 feet. I don’t think any commercial developers could take advantage of that.” Neils said that the only reason the project required a variance was because the zoning code stipulates that the height be measured from existing ground levels, rather than the actual height of the building. He added that the city requested project managers to raise the building four feet by filling in the ground level to allow for better water drainage during rainfall. “So, we lost four feet of building height right away,” he said, adding that the project designers did not feel they could adequately fit the project into 26 feet. The next step for the project is uncertain. “A decision will likely be made soon because there was so much momentum built up around this project,” which the school hoped to finish in time for the 2012 school year, Neils said. “They won’t want to let it sit around for months.”