St. Mary’s project is a go

Councilwoman Toni Iseman brokered a deal Jan. 8 that broke up the threat of a no-vote for the proposed plans for a new outreach facility at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.

The church wants to demolish the old Guild Hall and construct a new community outreach facility on the church property at 428 Park Ave., as approved by the Planning Commission on Dec. 5, 2006, subject to conditions. But the approved plan wiped out neighbor Ron Kaufman’s ocean view. The church subsequently was required to redesign the facility to increase their neighbor’s view.

The council voted 3-1 to approve the project when a church spokesman agreed to lower the ridgeline of a covered walkway by six inches. Iseman said the reduction would restore most of a neighbor’s view that had been blocked by the design as originally proposed two years ago and later modified.

Iseman and Councilman Kelly Boyd had been appointed in 2007 to work with church officials on the restoration of some, if not all, of Ron Kaufman’s view.

Boyd was satisfied that the church had met the goal with the proposal presented Tuesday.

“We were at Ron’s house I don’t know how many times,” Boyd said. “The first time, I said this isn’t going to work. But it got better each time we went. And the last time, I saw vast improvement. I think he has gotten equity and I am pleased with what I saw.”

Iseman wasn’t pleased. She saw the view from a different angle — seated rather than standing at a window as Boyd did.

Approval of the project hinged on the council’s determination that the church officials had met Condition 34, which obliged them to restore some, if not all of Kaufman’s view. They took a year to make the changes presented Tuesday, the only issue open for discussion.

Attorney David R. Hunt, hired by Kaufman, argued unsuccessfully that the entire project should be open for discussion, based on his belief that the project had never been completely approved.

Deputy City attorney Hans Van Ligten, subbing for City Attorney Philip Kohn, stuck with his opinion that only the resolution of one condition was on the agenda.

However, proponents and opponents of the project filled the City Council Chamber and some managed to make other points, in the guise of discussing the view issue.

“The best way to restore Ron Kaufman’s view is to save the building,” said Barbara Metzger, who opposed the demolition of the Guild Hall because of its historical value.

On the other hand, Ed Perry told the council, “My home was built in 1923. If I objected to everything between me and the ocean, I’d be up here all the time.”

The council also was split. Councilwoman Elizabeth Schneider aligned herself with Boyd to approve the proposal as submitted. Mayor Jane Egly had consistently voted against the project and wasn’t about to change. Iseman was unhappy that a purely architectural element was still blocking Kaufman’s view.

With Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman recused because she owns property in the noticing area, the church teetered on the edge of a two-two vote, which is an automatic denial.

In March of 2007, the council reviewed the redesign and was not satisfied that the church had adequately addressed Kaufman’s view loss and sent the project back to the drawing board to rectify the problem.

The project architect lopped off a substantial portion of the proposed building and removed 10 feet of the upper level roof, which gave Kaufman a better view.

But not quite good enough for an approval until Iseman’s suggestion to reduce the height of the walkway broke the logjam.