Hostilities grew and the fur flew at last Wednesday night’s meeting of the San Marino Planning Commission as at least two controversial projects were discussed during the marathon session, which lasted more than three hours.
While the majority of the proceedings remained civil, tempers flared during discussions regarding a proposed new two-story house at 1470 Virginia Rd. that includes eight bedrooms, maid’s quarters and checks in at over 8,500 sq. ft.
Rob Tyler, principal of Tyler Gonzalez Architects, presented a lengthy description of the home, on behalf of the property owner, which he described as “Spanish Revival, with a Monterey influence,” Tyler said the project’s overall footprint “is not out of scale with the adjoining neighborhood.”
And though the project had some support, multiple residents and Planning Commissioners disagreed.
“This is really, really large,” said Laurie Barlow of Sherwood Rd. “You are putting an awful lot of mass onto this lot. If you are building a new house, keep it to the guidelines.”
Barlow also called the project “an investment vehicle, not a home.”
Former City Councilman Dennis Kneier, who lives within seven houses of the project, said “I am in favor of it the way it is. In summary, it’s a wonderful project that will enhance that piece of property and the neighborhood, even the neighborhood I live in.”
Due to the particular topography of the area, Kneier said the home “won’t even be seen.”
In turn, each Planning Commissioner voiced reservations for the project, the most aggressive of which was Howard Brody.
“Welcome to the Hotel Virginia,” he said. “This is awful, beyond awful. I think if you want to build something on this property, you do so in the pure sense, not designing from the inside out. It can be scrapped and you can start all over.”
When Tyler was asked for a timetable of potential revisions, he first addressed some of the feedback.
“I first want to say that I have never been so insulted in my life,” Tyler said. “I have 30 years of award-winning work and I have never been so insulted.”
Brody pointed Tyler back to the original question, whether the project would be completely redesigned or merely tweaked.
“I will follow staff’s guidelines,” said the architect, before exiting chambers at City Hall as the project was continued by a unanimous vote.
Adversarial opinions were also expressed regarding the previous and first agenda item of the meeting, continued discussion over the eight-year-old project at 1001 Rosalind, which took an hour and 37 minutes for Commissioners to agree to a request for an extension of the project completion date to May, 2017. The agreement is subject to several conditions, including construction management, insurance, an oft-debated landscape plan, continued status updates before the Planning Commission and financial penalties for non-compliance.
The extension wasn’t awarded without substantial protest from neighbors, who spoke of illegal tree removal at the property, refusal to adhere to previous conditions of extension, and illegal equipment and work hours.
“The owners are deliberately and blatantly violating restrictions,” said Jeff Jones of 1100 Rosalind. “They are flaunting the rules by using unsafe procedures.”
Jones said that workers have appeared at the home on Sundays, Thanksgiving and President’s Day and bulldozers begin work at 7 a.m., often not finishing until after 6 p.m.
Jones asked the Commission to run the plans back through the approval process and revoke existing permits.
“The owners are not working to complete this project as proposed in 2008,” said Jones. “This property is too important to be developed haphazardly.”
In other business, the Planning Commission approved an application by the San Marino Athletic club at 2327 Huntington Dr. to add a physical therapy offering; approved a second story addition to an existing two-story home at 485 Plymouth Rd.; continued an application for a one-story addition at 1940 Marino Terrace; and accepted the withdrawal of an application to construct a new home at 1040 Oak Grove Avenue.
