The California Coastal Commission approved a plan to build a house in Seal Beach at the agency’s Wednesday, Sept. 15 meeting. The house will be two-stories high on Ocean Avenue and three-stories high on the beach.
The way the beach slopes, the “basement” portion of the house will be visible from the sand.
“That’s always been allowed and wasn’t effected by Measure Z,” said Seal Beach Senior Planner Jerry Olivera.
“The project site is a beach front lot located at 620 Ocean Avenue in the City of Seal Beach, Orange County,” said the Coastal Commission staff report.
“The lot size is approximately 9,880 square feet and is currently zoned as Residential Low Density in the city of Seal Beach Zoning Code (not certified by the Commission). The proposed project is development within a location northwest (upcoast) of the Seal Beach Municipal Pier,” the report said.
The property is owned by Wendi Rothman, who supported the 2008 campaign to ban three-story houses in Seal Beach. Measure Z, the ballot proposition that established a two-story, or 25-foot, height limit for Old Town residences does not apply to the side of a home facing the beach.
The Rothman application was a Consent Calendar item. Unless three commissioners vote to remove an item from the Consent Calendar, such items are approved.
The house will be 6,755 square feet with a two-car garage on a beach lot, according to the Coastal Commission staff report.
As previously reported in the Sun, Rothman will have to bring the project back to the city of Seal Beach to apply for permits to demolish the existing structure and build the new house.
According to the real estate Web site Trulia.com, the original house, located at 620 Ocean Ave., sold on Sept. 22, 2009 for $4,175,000. The old house, reportedly built in 1952, is 1,896 square feet in size.
