A new planned development in La Jolla Shores cleared a major hurdle this month when the San Diego Planning Commission lent its support to a proposal to build six new houses there.
At their Dec. 4 meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to approve the construction of a development that would be known as Cielo Mar.
The proposal would consolidate three parcels and subdivide the area into six, with one house to be built on each. The homes would range from about 8,870 to 14,332 square feet each.
A private path now serves as a driveway to the property. With the project, all six houses would be accessed via a cul-de-sac running down the middle and would share common access to Calle del Cielo.
During the hearing, project manager Veronica Davison gave an overview of each house and argued that the overall project "aligns with the community character of the surrounding neighborhood, providing varied massing and articulation styles," and that bulk would be minimized on the frontage of each.
The plan has been undergoing local reviews since last year. Neighbors have raised concerns about issues such as grading, drainage plans, retaining walls and how close outdoor features such as pools would be to neighbors.
Issues raised by neighbor and former congresswoman Lynn Schenk were resolved in the 24 hours leading up to the Planning Commission hearing, according to her spokesperson Robin Madaffer.
"I'm happy to say ... we have a compromise that Lynn is happy with," she said.
She said the applicant team had agreed to move a pool that would have abutted Schenk's property and committed to limiting exterior construction to normal business hours on weekdays.
However, La Jolla architect Phil Merten's objections remained. He submitted a letter outlining his concerns about retaining walls and grading and reiterated some of them at the meeting.
Concerns were also raised about the extent of outreach to neighbors.
Project architect Andy Fotsch told commissioners they had done extensive outreach and encouraged neighbors to contact them with questions.
"We have had seven community planning meetings, in addition to many other meetings in our office, at neighbor's homes and on Zoom," he said.
But neighbor Artie Kavanaugh said many issues hadn't yet been resolved, particularly around drainage, and was a "little bit offended" at the claim that all neighbors were contacted.
"We have not been reached out to in well over a year," he said.
All said, the applicant team was commended by commissioners for its outreach to neighbors but encouraged to keep lines of communication open.
Soon after, a motion to approve the project passed unanimously.
The owners -- six separate parties organized under an LLC named Cielo Mar La Jolla -- completed purchase of the 4½ acres for $35 million in August 2024.
Leading up to the purchase, in July of last year, both the La Jolla Shores Permit Review Committee and La Jolla Shores Planned District Advisory Board considered the proposal but did not vote. Instead, they asked the applicant team to return with more information. The next month, the project returned to both bodies, but again, neither voted.