Neighborhood Character Threatened
April 2008 | by Brooke Eisenberg-Pike

On Monday, April 7 the City Council will hear the appeal of an approval to build a two-story house at 642 Hoska Drive. The house, including a detached guest house is 2933 square feet. The basement is an additional 2700 square feet. The total floor area is 5633 square feet. The lot of almost 12,000 square feet is large enough to accommodate the same size house in a single story. The applicant and the neighbors have been before the Design Review Board three times. At the second hearing there was a 3-3 vote. The attorney retained by the applicants asked the Council to allow them to go back to DRB a third time when a full board was present. The project was approved in a 4-3 vote. The neighbors, Rod Franklin, Shirley Dentz and Brooke Eisenberg-Pike appealed, and the Council agreed to hear the appeal.

The issue is simple but of great consequence to our community in that it is an issue of upholding the Community Plan rather than incrementally changing it through actions of the DRB. The Council can remedy that at the April 7 th hearing. The Community Plan expressly requires that we “encourage single story development in areas where two-story development would be disruptive to neighborhood character and scale of development. “ This would be a two-story house smack dab in the center of a street of one-story houses that are nestled into the hillside. If approved it would be the first step in incrementally changing the character and scale of our neighborhood and a big step toward ignoring the stated intent of the Community Plan. Next time will one of the directives of the Community Plan be ignored in your neighborhood? Your participation can ensure that our Community Plan is upheld .

Brooke Eisenberg-Pike was an appellant for this application.

Update (posted 4/4/08)

Owners Withdraw Two-Story Plans for 642 Hoska
by Wayne Dernetz, April 4, 2008

After gaining approval from the Del Mar Design Review Board last December, the owners of the property at 642 Hoska Drive this week withdrew their application for a design review permit to replace their existing one-story home with a two-story residence. The owners, Stefan and Kim Kanetis, informed the City of their decision to withdraw their application just days before the City Council was set to hear an appeal of the approval filed by owners of three nearby properties. The decision was announced in a brief letter to the City from the owners' architect, Richard Bokal of Bokal and Sneed, Architects. As of this posting, the owners have not provided any comment or explanation for their decision.