DRB approves El Camino Del Mar ADU after applicant agrees to reduce height, add tall hedge and opaque windows

Laguna Beach’s Design Review Board approved an attached ADU and a modest elevated deck at 371 El Camino Del Mar on Dec. 11 after the applicant offered a mitigation package to address neighbor concerns about massing and privacy.

Neighbor testimony described the proposed two‑story ADU as "tall and central" and said it would loom over an adjacent backyard and pool with direct sight lines. The neighbor urged the board to require stronger design changes than those originally proposed.

In response the applicant and design team offered four concessions on the record: (1) lower the new structure by 18 inches by reducing plate heights and roof pitch; (2) make specified bathroom windows opaque and tilt‑only; (3) condition the primary bedroom window to meet code egress while minimizing direct lines of sight (opaque/minimal visibility as required by code); and (4) install a dense tall hedge (suggested species and maintenance to be specified) along the southern property line to create a visual buffer up to roughly 17–18 feet in height.

Board members agreed the concessions materially mitigated privacy concerns and approved the ADU and a modification to building site coverage, attaching conditions requiring the lowering, window treatments, and landscape buffer. Staff will include the detailed plant palette and maintenance requirements in the final permit language.

What’s next: Applicant must submit final landscape and window specifications meeting the board’s conditions before building permits are issued.