2257 Froude. Photos by Deb Greene
Work has begun on the controversial Froude Street project in northeast Ocean Beach. The demolition and first stages of excavation have changed the lot at 2257 Froude Street.
The project includes:
“the demolition of an existing single-family structure and the construction of two new 1, 814 square-foot homes each over a 1,073 square-foot basement/two car garage on two legal lots.”
The OB Rag has been watching this project for a year and a half.
Artist rendering of new project.
Our report from May 2016:
Front.
Here’s why there’s controversy – besides the bulk, style, etc of the project itself – :
The house to be demolished and the new project are both on the east side of the street. The east side of Froude in that area is not within the jurisdiction of the Ocean Beach Planning Board and Community Plan, but within the jurisdiction of the Peninsula Community Planning Board and plan. The Peninsula plan has less stringent requirements – especially in terms of the floor-area-ratio (FAR) – than the OB Plan.
Middle of Froude Street – one side, to the left, is in the Peninsula Community Planning Area (blue house to be demolished is on that side); the other side, to the right, is in Ocean Beach Planning Area.
There is a line down the middle of the street – one side is “OB” and the other side is “Point Loma”. This is a technicality as it is where city planners and Ocean Beach planning activists drew the border between the two community planning areas back in the mid-1970s.
Dividing line between Ocean Beach and Peninsula planning areas. Here, OB is in OB.
In reality, this area is definitely Ocean Beach. It was part of the very first street division drawn up for the OB area in 1885, part of the “DePuy Sub-Division” which covered what is now north-east Ocean Beach. If one looks at the area’s precinct maps, you’ll see the titles of “Ocean Beach” on them.
The style, height and bulk and scale probably would not fit into the OB Community Plan. So, fortunately for the owners and developers, it’s on the Peninsula side. Yet the Peninsula Community Planning Board voted 9 to 1 against the project in January. In February, the DSD staff approved it despite the local board’s opposition. …
Back yard and rear of house demolished.
There are plenty of other complaints and problems with the project. Locals Tom and Judy Parry wrote an excellent critique that we published earlier this month.
North side of front of house demolished at 2257 Froude.
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