Planners look at slimming down new homes

Home buyers looking for a “really big” house — or site on which to build one — will not find it in Laguna if supporters of a limit on single-family residence sizes prevail.

“Mansionization” looms large in the minds of many Laguna Beach residents, with an absolute limit on home sizes seen as the key to the preservation of the prized “village character.”

The selection and study of the best methods to preserve the integrity of the city’s distinct qualities was one of the top priorities of the Planning Commission’s subcommittee tasked with updating the land use element of the general plan.

“That is why the preservation of neighborhood character is goal number one, policy number one and action number one proposed for review by the Planning Commission and recommendation for adoption by the City Council,” said Commissioner Norm Grossman after Monday’s two-hour, public workshop.

There is no specific recommendation on square-footage in the proposals, crafted in about a year of meetings that included 30 workshops. Supporters of a maximum-size limit consider the proposed update flawed by the lack of specificity.

Village Laguna members are disappointed that no absolute limit of 5,000 square feet has been included in the recommendation, according to a letter received this month by commissioners.

“Community members who are participating in the Planning Commission workshops have suggested variations on this idea, but so far no such provision has been included in the draft,” Village Laguna President Anne Caenn said.

A meeting hosted by Village Laguna in June for representatives of neighborhood associations showed a broad concern about oversized houses, Caenn said. If a limit was set, people with large families who want a more spacious home would know from the get-go that Laguna was not the place to house-hunt, according to Caenn.

“I think people feel comfortable knowing the rules,” Caenn said. “If Laguna had a consistent limit, people could decide whether a 15,000 square-foot home or living in Laguna was more important. We all have to make choices.”

However, the general plan is not the place for specific building guidelines, planners said.

“For example, the 36-foot height limit that initially defined Village Laguna’s purpose is nowhere in the general plan and never has been, but it is ensconced solidly in city ordinances,” Grossman said.

“Specific size limits are not appropriate in the general plan. What is appropriate in the general plan is a commitment to determine the best way of reaching the goal of ensuring neighborhood compatibility. We need to study various methods suggested, including absolute house size, ratio of square footage to lot size and averaging the size of surrounding houses to establish a maximum size.”

Former Councilman Wayne Peterson, who also served on the Design Review Board and the Planning Commission, suggested the averaging method at subcommittee hearings. He agreed with Grossman that an ordinance is what is needed.

“What I was saying was that we need to develop an ordinance that requires new development to not exceed the average square footage or the heights of the homes in the noticing area,” Peterson said. “I am more concerned about neighborhood character than the actual square footage or height.

“New development needs to be representative of what is already in the neighborhood,” he added.