OB Planners to Review Two, 2-Story Condos Project at Froude and Del Monte – Wed., Sept.5

The Ocean Beach Planning Board will take a look at a project proposed for the northwest corner of Froude and Del Monte, plus possibly appoint new board members and take up a slew of recommendations coming in from the board’s transportation sub-committee.

The board meets Wednesday, September 5 at the OB Rec Center, 4726 Santa Monica Avenue, starting at 6pm. (The official agenda is posted below.)

1750 Froude Street

Richard Harmon, new owner of 1750 Froude, has a Coastal Development Permit and tentative map for his proposed project for the board to review – a project which includes the demolition of the existing house, and the construction of two 2-story condos along with a nearly 700 square foot subterranean basement. The new condos will total 5641 square feet on a .21 acre site.

The project comes before the full board without a recommendation from the Project Review Committee, a sub-committee of the volunteer panel – as they did not have a quorum.

The only controversy aired about the project at the sub-committee hearing was whether the new project could be constructed without damaging the grove of all the various palm trees grown by the previous owner – literally, OB’s largest oasis of palms on private property.

Here are excerpts from Geoff Page’s report of the Project Review Committee meeting on the project:

It appeared as if the [project] presenters had heard this concern [about removing all the palm trees] and they immediately explained that all of the existing vegetation would remain. …

The plan is to build two condominiums on the roughly 9,000 square foot lot. The owners plan to live in one and sell the other. Each condo will be two stories over a basement level. The basement will house the garage, a laundry room, and a gym. The first floors will be a living room and kitchen and other space and will include a deck. The second floor will be for the bedrooms and bathrooms. The exterior will be stucco and stone. …

The architect spoke first explaining that the project met all city requirements for floor area ratio, height, parking, and setbacks and was not asking for any variances. A curb cut on Froude will be closed and one will be opened on Del Monte so the project will not impact street parking. The zoning in this area is RM-1-1, a multifamily zoning designation. The zoning allows for one unit for each 3,000 square feet.

A commenter to the original report said the house and property once belonged to Frank Day, who-

“was a fixture in Ocean Beach in the 60s. He was crazy about tropical fish and had over 100 aquariums in his house. He later switched his hobby interests to palms and planted hundreds of them in his yard.”

Despite the project presenter’s denials of removing or damaging the palms, there are real doubts whether a subterranean garage and two 2-story buildings can be built without negatively harming the trees.

Now, of course, there is no legal authority for the Planning Board to demand the developer not harm the palms  on private property – only moral, aesthetic and environmental persuasions.

Transportation Safety Issues

The Board also will review and vote on a series of letters proposed by the Transportation sub-committee regarding safety issues. One is about safety improvements along Bacon, considered “Bicycle Corridor”; a second is about safety improvements at the intersection of Niagara and Sunset Cliffs Blvd, and a third is also about safety issues – along Brighton Avenue.

Official Agenda

Here is the official agenda for the meeting: