Council denies variance for unpermitted retaining walls at 939 Begonia Court

The Carlsbad City Council voted on June 26 to deny a variance and related coastal development permit for a series of unpermitted retaining walls at 939 Begonia Court, concluding the application did not meet the findings required by the Hillside Development Regulations.

City planning staff told the council the project began without permits in 2015–2017, drew a code case and a stop-work notice in 2019, and that a prior variance application had been denied by council in 2021. Staff evaluated the lot and said the requested variance would constitute a grant of special privilege and that the required findings could not be made.

"We let this application be submitted. We evaluated it in detail," City Planner Eric Lardy said. "The standard review for a variance application for the hillside development regulations is very high, and we did not find that we can meet those findings."

The applicant's civil engineer, Johnny Rivera of Fusion Engineering, said the lot is unusually encumbered, provided a petition of neighborhood support signed by 67 neighbors, and cited a previous variance on Twain Avenue as precedent. Rivera argued reinforcement of the existing walls would be less disruptive to the slope than excavating and reconstructing.

Neighbors and nearby property owners told council the terracing has reduced their usable yard area and that the structures resemble an observation deck rather than a simple retaining wall. Jack Phelps, who lives nearby, said the structure included stairs and seating and that it had caused a loss of use to his property.

The council asked detailed questions about slope stability and remediation. Staff engineering representatives said that if the variance were denied the property owner must obtain grading and building permits and undertake excavation and reconstruction per geotechnical recommendations to restore a compliant slope, and that those measures would be done under city-reviewed plans and at the owner's expense.

Mayor (presiding) summarized the council’s position: "If we were to say we're going to give a variance to this, then we're going to have to give a variance to everybody who comes in and says they made a mistake and they did something they didn't realize they were supposed to be doing. So I'm not going to support the resolution for the variance." The council then adopted a resolution denying the variance; the record notes a recusal when appropriate and staff was asked to work with the owner on remediation options.

The denial requires the owner to pursue corrective work or apply again if circumstances change; staff said they will assist with permitting and engineering review to stabilize the slope and protect neighboring properties.