COSTA MESA
What began as a dream home has turned into a nightmare for Tracy Stevenson, her boyfriend, Joseph Warner, and their neighbors on Samoa Place in Mesa Verde.
Stevenson and Warner are building a five-bedroom house some neighbors have described as a monstrosity dwarfing everything in the neighborhood. At issue is a third story in an area that allows only two-story dwellings. The city has admitted the building permit was issued in error and put a stop-work order on construction of the third floor.
“I think what they built was substantially similar to what the plan showed, so it’s not like they sneaked anything through,” said Perry Valantine, development services director. “It was just an oversight on our part.”
More than 200 signatures have been collected in protest, and the Mesa Verde Homeowners Assn. has submitted a letter to the city supporting residents’ concerns. In the letter, the homeowners board referred to the home as an “architecturally offensive” structure that would set a “horrible building precedent” in the city.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
