Del Mar

A Del Mar architect and former city planning commissioner has appealed a city decision allowing Mayor John Gillies to continue building a 5,000-square-foot home in the exclusive North Bluff area of the seaside community.

Lew Dominy filed an appeal to the decision allowing Gillies to proceed, charging that the mayor had not received proper building permits, had allowed permits to lapse and had exceeded a height variance of 35 feet granted by the city four years ago.

Planning Director Jim Sandoval said Friday that Dominy’s appeal was filed Wednesday--the last day on which a protest could be raised. Sandoval said the appeal alleges that Gillies’ construction plans show the structure to be 43 feet tall and four stories, instead of the three-story, 35-foot structure approved by the city.

A complaint about the mayor’s home first was filed in June by former Mayor Tom Pearson, a political opponent of Gillies. City planners ordered construction halted on the building in July, but, after an investigation by a Northern California land-use attorney, uncovered no fault with Gillies’ permits or plans, Sandoval lifted the ban in mid-September.

Sandoval said Friday that the Dominy appeal will go before the City Council in late November for a decision on whether to hold a public hearing on Dominy’s allegations on Dec. 5. Gillies will not be allowed to participate in the decision or the hearing, Sandoval said.