Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the View Equity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council sustains DRB approval for 332 Locust after neighbors' view‑equity appeal fails
Summary
Council denied an appeal challenging a second‑story addition at 332 Locust, finding no abuse of discretion in the DRB’s unanimous approval despite neighbors’ objections that feasible middle‑ground alternatives were not analyzed.
Laguna Beach council members denied an appeal to the design review board's unanimous approval of a second‑story addition at 332 Locust Street, concluding the board followed the law and that the record supported its view‑equity finding.
Lead appellant Greg Homer (361 Locust) told council he was not seeking to block all second‑story development but asked the council to either add restrictive conditions or remand the project so the DRB would analyze narrower alternatives to reduce view impacts. "I'm not asking you to re‑weigh the evidence. I'm not asking you to block a 2nd story on this property," Homer said, framing the appeal narrowly as a request to ensure the board demonstrated it minimized avoidable impacts.
The project's architect, Matt Gummo, told council the design intentionally reduced interior plate heights and massing to avoid "padding" the proposal. He summarized the board's work: site visits, story‑pole observation and conditioned reductions to glazing and roof elevation. "Story polls show an envelope. They don't show a building," he said, asking council to consider the full record of deliberation and the board's unanimous vote.
After questioning about open‑space calculations, plate heights and whether feasible middle options existed, the council, applying the abuse‑of‑discretion standard for a 5–0 DRB decision, voted to deny the appeal and sustain the board's approval.
