Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the View Equity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Design Review Board approves replacement home at 1495 Coral Drive with limited revisions
Summary
The board approved a new single‑family home at 1495 Coral Drive after applicants agreed to two design concessions — reduce an oversized rear post and convert a gable roof over a covered patio to a hip roof — and to cap a specified front yard tree at a 12‑foot maintained height.
Laguna Beach’s Design Review Board on May 22 approved a proposal to replace the existing 1965 house at 1495 Coral Drive with a new single‑family residence and two‑car garage (Design Review 25‑0570 and Coastal Development Permit 25‑0569). The approval was unanimous after the applicant offered concessions sought by adjacent neighbors.
Staff described the project as a conforming proposal in the neighborhood’s panel development; the design keeps the roof ridgeline lower than or comparable to adjacent homes and staff found the design compatible with neighborhood scale and coastal permit criteria. The applicant, architect Scott Schafer, showed massing diagrams and argued the proposal fits the pattern of nearby properties that are at or above the 14‑foot maximum height measured from mean top of curb.
Neighbors raised view equity concerns; several said the proposed house would block a substantial portion of their south- and southeast-facing views. The applicant said the new design sits at or below many adjacent ridge lines and that lowering the finished floor would require substantial additional excavation and not visibly improve the outcome. To resolve neighborhood concerns, the applicant agreed to two on‑the‑record concessions: (1) reduce the size of rear covered‑patio support posts to a standard wood post with stone base (smaller than the originally proposed large posts), and (2) change the gable roof over the covered patio to a hip roof that pulls the ridge back, reducing the perceived mass. The applicant also agreed to cap a front yard strawberry tree’s maintained height at 12 feet instead of 14.
The board voted 5‑0 to approve the project with the three conditions reflected on the record and to attach the applicant’s revised exhibit showing the concessions to the approval resolution.
