Green Dragon Wins Reprieve by Court

The Green Dragon Colony, four turn-of-the-century cottages in downtown La Jolla, whose partial demolition last month aggravated a controversy between development interests and local historians, has received a court-ordered reprieve from any further destruction.

The state’s 4th District Court of Appeal on Thursday granted the stay, until further notice, of demolition requested by several local interests, including the state Coastal Commission and local architect Tony Ciani.

The court gave attorneys for the property owners--a trust led by La Jolla architect Robert Mosher--until Tuesday to respond to its decision.

In a move that surprised and angered several local preservation groups, the property owners arranged for wrecking balls to begin dismantling the four cottages, which overlook the ocean from a sloping hillside west of Prospect Street.

The cottages, which many say represent the last fragment of La Jolla’s historical and architectural roots, were severely damaged but not completely demolished July 10 by the time activists won a temporary restraining order in San Diego Superior Court. Thursday’s decision effectively extends that order indefinitely until the appeal court has more time to consider the matter.

Preservationists hailed Thursday’s court decision.

“I’m stoked, totally stoked,” Ciani said. “This gives us some time. . . . I don’t know, many years possibly.”

Ciani said the July 10 demolition destroyed about half of the buildings. “But there’s still 40% to 60% of the cottages still there,” he said. “Some of the materials have been damaged beyond repair. But a great deal have not. And that’s what we’re going to try and salvage.”

Attorneys for Mosher did not return telephone calls.

The July demolition was the latest event in a five-year debate over the fate of the board-and-batten cottages, once an internationally famous retreat for the writers, painters and other artists who near the turn of the century pioneered La Jolla as a mecca for creative souls.

The property owners, however, have long claimed that the cottages now have nostalgic but little historical significance and had offered to move them to another site. Preservationists said that having the cottages on their original location added to their authenticity as historical objects.

In February, 1990, the owners filed permit applications with the city of San Diego to demolish the structures but became frustrated when no action was taken on their request during succeeding months.

This spring, the owners filed a $2.8-million lawsuit against the city in Superior Court, claiming that officials had violated the state Permit Streamlining Act by not acting on their applications within one year.

The city, in an attempt to settle a potentially costly lawsuit, voted not to oppose a judge’s order allowing the demolition. The next day, a Superior Court judge issued the destruction order, sending state attorneys and a lawyer hired by the preservationists scrambling for a last-minute stay.

On Thursday, state attorneys advised caution over the recent ruling by the appeal court.

“It’s not over yet,” said Deputy Atty. Gen. Jamee Patterson, who helped lead the court battle to preserve the structures. “It’s more unusual for a court to issue a stay of demolition than not, so we’re pleased that the court’s interest is piqued in this case. But there’s still a long ways to go before they are surely saved.”

Ciani said he has received word from the state’s Historical Building Safety Board that the city may have violated state historical building codes by allowing the demolition, and that all materials on the site should be protected for a possible “reconstitution piece-by-piece,” pending the outcome of all legal action.

The code says that valuable historical structures can be rebuilt piece by piece in the event of a war, earthquake or any other disaster, he said. “And this is one of those situations, I’d say.”