The Santa Barbara Planning Commission will decide on Thursday whether to allow a Shoreline Drive homeowner to add a second story and leave two unpermitted retaining walls, two sets of stairs, and a chain link fence on the bluffs overlooking the ocean.
Owner Chad Yonker bought the home at 1631 Shoreline Drive in 2016.
City planners said that a previous homeowner installed the walls, stairs and fence without permits between 1977 and 1987. Staff discovered the permitting errors during a zoning information report for the 2016 sale.
Staff determined that it could not find the “as-built” work on the bluff consistent with the Local Coastal Plan.
Planners said they would not have approved the work in the first place because it is not compliant with the local Coastal Act.
But there’s a problem now with removing it.
“To eliminate that would trigger other problems at this point,” said Tom Ochsner, the architect behind the project.
An engineer hired by the city determined that removing the unpermitted work could weaken the hillside.
“It is therefore my opinion that the walls should remain to help support the slope and reduce the potential for slope failure along the bluff top,” wrote Adam Simmons, a certified engineering geologist and hydrologist. “Removal of the walls would not only disturb the surrounding area but require placement of fill material to resupport the vertical exposed slopes.”
The geologist suggested that only 18 to 24 inches of the upper retaining wall be removed.
Under these terms, in the event the bluff is compromised, the homeowner would be responsible for removing all recoverable debris from the beach and ocean, and disposing of the material.
Yonker also wants to remove an unpermitted concrete pad and plant drought tolerant vegetation in its place.
In addition to the bluff structures, Yonker wants to add 422 square feet to the first floor and a new 1,356-square-foot second-story to the 1,826-square-foot single-family residence.
The property has a history of violations. In May 2009, the Planning Commission approved a coastal development permit for two as-built concrete and wood patios, stairways and retaining walls.
The homeowner at the time also received approval to plant native vegetation and install a temporary drip irrigation.
The homeowners never removed the structures, however, and let the permit expire.
But after the permit expired, sometime in 2015, the homeowner removed some of the stairways, patios, and concrete, but left the others behind.
“Everybody wants to feel good about what happens here,” Ochsner told Noozhawk.
In a letter to the city, he said, “To restore the bluff top to its original shape would require significant disturbance to the existing bluff top, which has been in its current configuration for over 30 years. Our engineering consultants are advising us to not unnecessarily disturb the existing bluff top condition.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
