The OB Planning Board Project Review Committee meets Wednesday, October 18th, and has two projects on its agenda.
The first is the 4 condos project at Abbott and Muir and the second is the Houlton Family bluff repair project. The Project Review panel is a sub-committee of the OB Planning Board and makes recommendations to the full board. The meetings take place at the OB Rec Center, 4726 Santa Monica in the Community Meeting Room. They start at 6pm.
Abbott and Muir Condos
Before the panel is a new design for the controversial condo project at Abbott and Muir. Before the review panel is a process 3 coastal development permit, a site development permit and tentative map to construct 4 condos (although the agenda also states the “proposed # of Units: 3”; this is due to changes by the developer from the original project description – see below) at the corner of Abbott and Muir. The proposed gross floor area is 5,650 square feet on a 7,500 square foot lot.
The last time this project was to appear before the OB Planners, we had this to say:
2150 1/3 Abbott St. – Controversial Project Downgrades to 3 Condos
… on the agenda, but by far the most controversial project, is the permit to build 3 residential condos for a total of 6730 square feet, on that large, empty 7500 square foot lot at the intersection of Abbott and Muir.
Original design of condos at Abbott and Muir – but with 4 condos. The new plans have only 3 condos.
This is one of the most controversial projects ever to come before the review panel and the full board – because the 2-story project has been before the full board or the review panel 3 or 4 times, each time getting rejected or postponed.
The project originally called for 4 condos, and was continually rejected by OB planners for violating OB’s floor-area-ratio. Now, it looks like the developers have figured out they can only build three condos on the lot.
In June of 2015, the developers appeared before the Project Review panel and requested a variance around the floor area ratio. This was denied 8 to zip. (See details here.)
When the project came before the full OB Planning Board in September 2015 – the board took on the issue of developers requesting variances to the FAR because they complied with the City’s “green program”, tabling their decision on the project until after the board had determined its own standards.
Philip Covington’s project returned to the OB planners in May of 2016, and again the FAR exceeded OB’s standards, and again the board tabled its decision to allow Covington time to come up with a new design that would meet with the board’s approval – and recommendation. Apparently, he has, for the original 4 condos has been dropped to three, hopefully to meet the FAR.
We have not seen the new design, but expect it will look like the old design, minus one condo.
Houlton Family Bluff Repair
The other project is a process 3 CDP to remove and construct a new seawall at 4820 Point Loma Avenue.
Here’s the official agenda:
The OB Rag sent our reporter to the meeting but the panel didn’t have a quorum so everything was tabled.
No quorum?? on one of the most controversial projects.
That is soooo lame! Debbie nailed it – no quorem on one of the most controversial projects. C’mon guys and girls. What is it? Baseball or Basketball? No excuse – record the damn game.
I had a thought on why not enough board people showed up; both of these projects have been around and through this committee before and maybe people thought, oh, the hell with it, let the full board deal with them.