Calling their bluffs

Alicia Robinson

The otherwise routine remodel of an Ocean Boulevard home has brought

to light a gap in city codes that could allow property owners to

build as far out from the bluffs as the laws of physics will support,

as long as they stay within height and setback limits.

The city’s zoning code includes a maximum building height and

requires setbacks from property lines, and the city’s general plan

charges officials with minimizing alteration to coastal bluffs. But

nothing says how far out a structure can jut from the bluff.

“As I see it, our existing policy really is somewhat vague and

doesn’t deal with the issue head-on to the extent where it’s

definitive,” Newport Beach Mayor Steve Bromberg said.

“We’re trying to change that with the proposed [Local Coastal

Plan] that is with the [state] Coastal Commission right now.”

The issue arose because Ocean Boulevard resident Doug Circle wants

to build a new home on his bluff-side property with an upper deck

that exceeds the height limit.

When the Planning Commission approved his request, neighbor Lynne

Butterfield appealed to the City Council, arguing the new home would

interfere with the public’s views from Inspiration Point and Corona

del Mar State Beach -- as well as her own view.

An aerial photo taken in 1995 shows existing homes along the bluff

more or less lining up with one another, and Butterfield thinks that

shouldn’t change.

The proposed new deck will project about eight feet farther than

the existing one, she said.

She had stakes erected on her deck based on the Circles’ plans to

illustrate how far out the new deck would reach.

“I think we all have an obligation to hold the line,” Butterfield

said.

“It makes you a good neighbor; it’s good for the public; it’s good

for the people across the street.”

Circle could not be reached for comment on the project, which the

City Council will address Tuesday.

Some council members see the issue as more than a ruling on one

request -- they’ll be making a policy decision, whether they like it

or not.

The city eventually will have a clearly defined policy on building

projections, once its Local Coastal Plan is approved by the Coastal

Commission, but that could take a year or longer.

The plan spells out what kind of land uses and development are

allowed in the coastal zone, an area defined by state law.

Its goal is to protect public access to the coast and coastal

resources.

For now, city officials are on their own, and they will have to

strike a balance between their duty to protect property owners’

rights and their stewardship of the environmentally sensitive bluffs.

“I’m concerned about anything that would be built farther out than

what is there today,” Councilman Don Webb said.

“Until we have a policy that clearly defines this, we’re going to

have to look very carefully at each project.”

Some worry that if the Circles’ project is approved, other

property owners will try to build similar homes that project beyond

existing ones.

“It begs the question -- where, if at all, do you stop,” Bromberg

said.

Even if the city approves the project, the Coastal Commission

still has to sign off on it.

While some think the commission holds the environment in higher

regard than property rights, it has recently approved buildings along

the same bluff that project farther than the homes there, Assistant

City Manager Sharon Wood said.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at alicia.robinson@

latimes.com.