City clears way for Mar Vista plan

Council turns down Iseman bid to revoke permits for 17,000square-foot hilltop residence.City officials found no grounds Tuesday for holding a hearing to revoke approval of a plan and the coastal development permit for a huge single-family home on Mar Vista.

No action was taken on Councilwoman Toni Iseman’s proposal to schedule a revocation hearing, which require specific findings -- legal bases for action -- including negligent or intentional misrepresentation that led to approval of the project.

“If this project were coming before us today, I’d have no problem voting against it,” Councilwoman Jane Egly said. “I am desperately trying to find criteria under our code for substantial misrepresentation.”

Egly said the closest she could come to misrepresentation was the change in the amount of dirt to be exported off the site during grading, and that had been labeled an estimate.

“So it’s not misrepresentation and does not give me probable cause for a revocation hearing,” she said.

Almost 20,000 cubic yards of dirt will be exported to make way for a 17,000-square-foot house and a 4,700-square-foot garage on a legal building site that abuts open space.

The 10-acre site was annexed into the city as a legal, non-conforming building site, complete with a permit issued by the county. Access is via a bridge which does not meet today’s standards, but was approved about 15 years ago.

“In 1990, the Design Review Board approved a variance for the driveway and a building permit for the bridge,” Community Development Director John Montgomery said. “The project was not appealed to the city council.”

However, neighbors claimed in an appeal filed in November that changes in grading and landscaping plans, including the increase in exported dirt, were violations of the conditions of approval and work was stopped on the project. The property owner went to court to force the city to reissue the permit and the judge made a preliminary ruling in his favor.

“In an ideal Laguna Beach, no one would want to build large houses and maybe [property owners] would even donate the land for open space,” Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman said. “But the court sent a warning shot over our bow. In fact, it put a hole in the boat.”

An agreement reached between the city and the property owner rendered the lawsuit moot.

“I am not afraid of a lawsuit, but I am bound to follow the law,” said Egly, an attorney.

Mayor pro tem Steven Dicterow said issues raised by opponents of the project were not material enough to warrant revocation.

The Laguna Beach Municipal Code, section 25.05.075, states that discretionary project approvals may be revoked if any of these findings can be made:

* That the administrative, conditional or temporary use permits, variance or design review approval was obtained by negligent of intentional misrepresentation (i.e., erroneous facts or information presented by the applicant) or fraud.

* That one or more conditions of approval has not been met or are not presently in compliance.

* That the use (in this case a single-family home) is in violation of any statute, ordinance, law or regulation

* That the use permitted is detrimental to public health, safety or welfare or constitutes a public nuisance.

City Attorney Philip Kohn said few revocation hearings are held.

“Courts impose a high standard when government entitlement is proposed to be revoked,” Kohn said. “It is given a higher level of scrutiny than other land use.”

Despite the council’s decision not to schedule a revocation hearing, Iseman said the hearing was worthwhile.

“I am glad we had this hearing,” Iseman said. “I don’t think anyone hearing it isn’t shaking their heads about the failure of the system to protect the health and welfare of the community.

“There was misrepresentation -- egregious misrepresentation, but the city also has its fingerprints all over this.”

Iseman suggested that a public telephone be installed at the project to make it easy for complaints about violations to be called into the city. She also said that any trucks caught dieseling (parked with motor running) should be grounds for closing down the project for one day.

“The community has been classy in the way it handled this,” Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider said. “We need to look at ways to ameliorate what the neighbors undergo.”

The council approved a proposal by City Manager Ken Frank to hire a project monitor during the grading.