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Design Review Board approves deck variance at 31860 Eighth Avenue with condition on access
Summary
The Laguna Beach Design Review Board approved a design review and variance allowing a front-deck addition at 31860 Eighth Avenue but added a condition to ensure support structures do not impede existing access, after neighbors raised safety and encroachment concerns.
The Laguna Beach Design Review Board on Oct. 23 approved a design review and variance for a front-deck addition at 31860 Eighth Avenue, finding the project exempt from CEQA. The board added a condition that any support structures must not impede existing pedestrian or vehicle access.
The project, proposed for a 1937 corner house in the Village Community zone, would add an elevated front deck that the applicant said will sit 0.21 feet (about 2 inches) from the front property line. The applicants said the work converts an interior stair and adds a small deck to provide an ocean view; staff recommended approval and noted the proposal meets design-review criteria.
Neighbors and members of the public testified against the variance during the public hearing, raising safety and right-of-way encroachment concerns. South Laguna residents MJ Abraham and Phil Abraham said landscaping, driveway parking and other encroachments along Eighth Avenue and Seaview Street have narrowed the paved roadway and created visibility and evacuation concerns. They urged the board to require mitigation of existing encroachments before approval.
The applicant’s representative and staff responded that the deck is modest, that the property is not undergoing a major remodel, and that the proposal follows development patterns on the street. Staff presented an attachment documenting multiple neighboring properties with existing encroachments into front setbacks.
Board members debated privacy, view equity and access. Several board members said the proposal followed established neighborhood patterns and that they had observed similar encroachments nearby; one member advised residents with enforcement concerns to pursue code-enforcement channels. The board nonetheless added the condition, requested in deliberations, that structural supports not impede the existing access configuration.
Motion and vote: The board voted 4–0 to adopt Resolution 25-0633, approving Design Review 25-0633 and Variance 25-0635, with the added condition that support structures not impede current access.
The applicant may appeal the decision to the City Council within 14 days.
Ending: The project will proceed to permit processing with the board’s condition; the applicant and staff indicated plans to provide final construction details to ensure the approved access condition is met.
