‘Bulky’ Condos Test New Community Plan – Report of Feb. OB Planning Board Meeeting

‘It’s not what the community wants’

By Tony de Garate

“It’s not a bad plan — it’s just not OB quality.”

That was the summary from John Ambert, chairman of the Ocean Beach Planning Board (OBPB), after reviewing a proposal to tear down a century-old-but-dilapidated cottage and replace it with two detached, two-story, 30-foot-tall condos with underground parking at 1764 Bacon Street.

While OBPB members said they were sympathetic to the young couple that wants to sell one unit and use the income to live in the other, they made it clear the project faced almost certain rejection in the form that was presented February 3rd at the board’s monthly meeting.

The reason?

There’s a whole host of new residential development recommendations in the new Ocean Beach Community Plan – a document finally approved last month by the California Coastal Commission after more than a decade of a plan update process. The condos’ bulky design, most board members said, lacked a working understanding of these details that would likely doom its approval without significant – and probably expensive – modifications.

“I think there was a lack of due diligence on the part of the architect,” Ambert said after a presentation and discussion that lasted more than an hour and ended abruptly when staff from the Ocean Beach Recreation Center announced the building was closing.

The board could continue the discussion March 2nd at its next regular meeting, Ambert said. But Abhay Schweitzer, principal of Techne Design and architect of the condos, did not say whether he was willing to redesign the project to the board’s liking.

The proposal was a last-minute scratch on the February 17 agenda of the OBPB’s Project Review Committee, reportedly due to the unavailability of the applicant.

It’s the first project to come up for review since the new community plan went into effect last month and is seen as something of a test of just how enforceable community recommendations can be applied to a development.

A community plan is a statement of policy designed to guide growth over a period of around 20 years. Ocean Beach was first to have one in 1975. But the development of a new plan, which began in 2002, went in fits and starts over the years — until final passage last month.

The plan’s Urban Design Element makes recommendations on things like architecture, bulk and scale, roofs, materials and fenestration — but the degree to which a developer must abide by them is unclear. Furthermore, though the OBPB is entitled to review all but the most routine development proposals, its decisions are nonbinding.

All but one board member – Dan Dennison – said the condos were not acceptable in their presented form. And even Dennison said he’d like to see landscaping modifications.

“I’d hate to see that this is what we’re going to have in OB,” said  board member Georgia Sparkman, objecting to the facade’s lack of articulation, style of windows and lack of a yard facing the street.

“It doesn’t take any design cues from our historic small-scale character. I keep seeing projects like this, and it’s not what the community wants,” she said.

“We call this ‘the fortress look,’ ” Vice Chairman Blake Herrschaft said.

“Our job is to prevent us from becoming like Mission Beach — every building (there) looks like this.”

Schweitzer defended the design and contended the condos would be an improvement to the neighborhood. He also pointed out the condos would be less bulky than surrounding structures next door and across the street.

“Right now, it’s an eyesore,” Schweitzer said, referring to of the appearance of the house to be demolished, which sags due to suspected unpermitted modifications to the structure.

He said city staff had “no issues” with the proposed condos.

“We’re really trying to bridge the gap between what’s there and what’s appropriate,” he said.

Board member Tom Gawronski, who is also a member of the Ocean Beach Historical Society, agreed it was not economically feasible to preserve the cottage, which he said was built in 1911.

However, “I’d have a hard time replacing a cottage with a billboard. This is another one of these places that looks like a prison without more articulation,” he said.

Board member Craig Klein said he would ask the owners to agree not to sell either of the condos to someone who would market them as short-term vacation rentals, a controversial practice for which the San Diego City Council is considering regulations.

“If you build this, a speculator will offer you a significant premium (for use as a short-term rental). That’s what’s murdering our community,” Klein said.