LAGUNA BEACH : Architects Tackle Slow Review Process

Claiming that Laguna Beach building projects are approved or rejected in a burdensome and sometimes arbitrary manner, a group of architects have devised a plan to alter the city’s design review process.

The architects, who say they represent hundreds of Laguna Beach residents, met recently to outline ways to speed approval by the city’s design review board, a process one said can take 18 months and double a client’s bill.

“We architects are representing our clients, so what we’re trying to do is maintain and protect their property rights,” said Newport Beach architect Brion Jeannette, who is working on five Laguna Beach projects.

Jeannette, a member of the American Institute of Architects, said the building approval process in Laguna Beach is more onerous than in other Orange County cities.

“The problem is quite localized to Laguna Beach because they have a design review board, where most other cities in the county don’t,” he said.

The board must approve all new buildings, second-story additions, add-ons that increase the original floor space by more than 50%, construction in environmentally sensitive areas and other projects.

In particular, architects say they will ask the council to balance the rights of a new builder to a scenic view with those of existing residents. They also want the council to either select more qualified board members or offer a seminar to train new members. In addition, they will ask that more decision-making power be delegated to city staff to reduce the number of times an applicant must appear before the board.

Their proposal will be presented to the City Council at an annual workshop Saturday. However, community development director Kyle Butterwick said city staff is already available to tutor board members if they have questions about a project. Most projects are reviewed by the board two or three times before they are approved, he said.

Architect Christian Abel says discontent with the design review board has been simmering since he was chairman in the late 1970s.

“It’s not something that just came up in the last year or two, but it has finally reached the point that it has become a little bit out of hand,” he said. “Almost every architect in Laguna Beach is involved in this.”

Board chairwoman Barbara Metzger admits the panel takes a conservative approach when issuing approvals.

“We have guidelines, but they’re very seldom approached, not to mention exceeded,” she said. It is the board’s responsibility to see that new development fits comfortably within the existing community, she said.

“I think we’re supposed to protect the views of the people who already live here, but I can’t think of an instance when a person building a home was denied a view,” she said. “We get letters all the time thanking us for preserving views and (for) helping maintain the character of the neighborhood.”