Board fears continued variances will set dangerous precedent for builders

Developers who seek variances to city code and build houses larger than prescribed by underlying zoning need to be stopped before the practice becomes an accepted precedent, according to members of the Ocean Beach Planning Board. The board voted 8-0 on Aug. 1 to request from the city a moratorium on variances in the RM 2-4 zone, a multi-unit zone that applies to most noncommercial property west of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. The board also requests an opportunity to “work out a policy solution with city staff” and resolve disagreements over how the variances are granted. These disagreements are best illustrated by the 5100 block of West Point Loma Boulevard, a block that contains 13 similar-looking, one-story, concrete duplexes built in the 1950s on lots of 2,500 square feet. The modest string contrasts dramatically with a more recent, three-story, single-family home in the middle of the block that received a variance to allow a carport instead of a garage and more square footage for living quarters than permitted by code. Since that house was built, an adjacent property owner received a variance to build a similar structure, which was appealed unsuccessfully all the way to the California Coastal Commission. Two other property owners in the block have made similar applications. How big a house can be is determined by what local planners call the FAR requirement, or floor-area ratio formula. In Ocean Beach’s RM 2-4 zone, the square footage of a structure is limited to 70 percent of the lot size. Of that 70 percent, one-quarter must be set aside for enclosed parking, unless underground parking is provided. Under existing code for a 2,500-square-foot lot, this means a maximum of 1,312.5 square feet for living space and a 437.5-square-foot garage. The variance for the single-family house allowed the entire 70 percent of lot size — 1,749 square feet — to be allocated for housing, and a 361-square-foot open carport instead of a garage. Board members have described the block as an “epicenter” of bulky, out-of-scale development and have tried nearly everything in their power to halt or at least clarify the variances: • In July 2011, the board protested in a letter to the mayor the variances constituted a “rezoning … without adhering to city procedures.” • In September 2011, District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer asked City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, at the request of the OBPB, to rule on the legality of the variances. Goldsmith issued a memo in December 2011 stating the variances did not constitute a rezone. • In February, the board persuaded the San Diego Community Planners Committee (CPC), a larger group of citywide citizen planners of which the OBPB is a member, to investigate the matter. • Board members have testified against the variances at the San Diego Hearing Examiner, San Diego Planning Commission and California Coastal Commission. So far, the variances have been upheld. The call for a moratorium shows the board still feels its position is correct, said PBPB Chairwoman Jane Gawronski. “What we’re trying to do is keep bulk and scale in harmony with the ambiance of Ocean Beach,” Gawronski said in comments after the meeting. “That’s why we have rules and regulations to determine how big you can build.” Vice Chairman Landry Watson said variances are being granted without substantial evidence to support their findings, and it’s unfair to hundreds of property owners who build a project by adhering to the development code without variance. OTHER OBPB MATTERS • The beach restrooms near Brighton Avenue are barely a few weeks old, but improvements are already being considered. Citizen complaints have provoked the city to see if there’s any money leftover from the project to put doors on the stalls in the women’s restroom. Chances are good, said Faulconer aide Mike Patton. • Help is on the way to attack the overgrown weeds visible while driving past the Ocean Beach Entryway. Patton had high praise for a deal that allows the city’s Park and Recreation Department to take over maintenance duties from the Ocean Beach Community Development Corporation. He said that among its first priorities is weed removal. • Stop signs: love ’em or hate ’em? The corner of Bacon Street and Saratoga Avenue could be the next location where the red octagonals appear, Patton said. The city, in response to a citizen, has determined the intersection meets all the qualifications but wants the OBPB’s opinion. The board’s Project Review Committee will take up the matter when it meets next on Aug. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center, 4726 Santa Monica Ave. • The board has only $255 and is on the verge of going broke once bills are due to a vendor that maintains the board’s website, Gawronski confirmed. Board member Giovanni Ingolia has been appointed to explore options for more revenues, like applying for grants from the Ocean Beach Town Council and local office holders. For now, board members don’t want to ask businesses for contributions to avoid conflicts of interest.