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Commission re-approves beachfront CDP and variances at 20222 PCH after neighbors raise height and privacy concerns
Summary
The commission voted to approve a previously permitted single-family rebuild at 20222 Pacific Coast Highway with variances, after a lengthy public discussion about height, view impacts, fire-hardening and shoreline vulnerability; staff and the applicant noted prior Planning Commission, Council and Coastal Commission approvals and updated wave run-up and FEMA compliance.
The Planning Commission voted on Nov. 3 to approve Coastal Development Permit 24-014 and associated variances for a proposed single-family residence at 20222 Pacific Coast Highway, a project previously approved at the city and state level but resubmitted after a CDP expiration.
Staff said the project had prior approvals from the planning commission (2018), city council on appeal (2019) and the California Coastal Commission (2021), and that the resubmitted design accounts for updated sea-level-rise guidance and FEMA flood-elevation requirements. The applicants team said the variances requested relate to site constraints (steep slope, parking and factor-of-safety measures) and are consistent with neighboring beachfront development patterns.
Neighbors and opponents urged denial or redesign at the hearing, arguing the proposal functions as a three-story structure that will dominate the beachfront, block sunlight and views, pose privacy concerns from a rooftop deck, and raise fire-safety and geologic stability questions. One neighbor said story poles extend above local utility lines and asked the commission to require fire-hardening and tempered glazing; another presented sun/shadow exhibits showing loss of morning and evening sunlight to adjacent rebuilds.
Owner Kate McCullough, participating remotely, apologized for the permit lapse and said she remained committed to building the design that had previously cleared multiple reviews. Counsel and the projects coastal engineer described technical work showing compliance with FEMA base flood elevations and updated wave run-up analysis; staff confirmed the finished-floor elevation meets the City and FEMA requirements described in the record.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about fire-hardy construction details, tempered glazing, the scope of the lateral-access easement and deed restrictions. The staff recommended and commissioners accepted an added condition clarifying that no development is authorized within the lateral access easement. On that basis the commission voted to approve the CDP and variances, with the standard deed restriction language and the new clarifying condition about the lateral access easement.
The decision allows the owner to pursue building permits under the citys coastal-permit process, subject to the recorded deed restriction and the conditions adopted by the commission. Several speakers noted the record remains open to appeals to higher bodies under existing rules.
