COSTA MESA : He Can Plunge Ahead With Plans for Pool

Sam Gregory’s castle on Arbor Street is complete with a moat for the family’s two ducks, concrete minarets and walkways through the grounds.

And soon, it will have a swimming pool on the roof.

The pool represents the latest joust in a long-running battle Gregory has been waging with the city over his plans to build his castle over the old home he bought for $120,000 four years ago.

City planners discovered the steel frame for the pool during an inspection. There being no law against rooftop pools, the appalled planners asked the City Council to pass one. But in a victory for the flamboyant Gregory, the council rejected the proposed law earlier this month.

“This seemed to be a law aimed specifically at stopping Gregory,” said Councilman Ed Glasgow, who voted against it.

“The fight is over,” said Don Lamm, the city’s developmental services manager, “but I feel sorry for the neighbors.”

The pool will be built into an upper deck above the new second story. It will be 26 feet long, 5 feet wide and 3 1/2 feet deep and lined with clear glass. It will be directly above the kitchen, said Gregory’s wife, Rose, so she can watch the children swim as she cooks.

“I’d like a bell too, but I think they’d really get noisy over that,” Rose said.

Gregory, a carpenter, submitted the plans for his castle two years ago. He said he has complied strictly with building code requirements. City officials concede that this is true, but they argue that he has sometimes violated the intent if not the letter of city laws. They say that after filing his original plans, he has tried to slip through changes such as the pool without notifying the city.

The castle has made Gregory something of a local celebrity. An interview atop his house was interrupted when Bill Rush, a Long Beach developer, climbed up to the deck to pay homage to the castle builder.

“Sam? Sam Gregory?” Rush asked. “I wanted to shake the hand of the man who built the swimming pool on top of the house.”