Posted on 02/06/2008 11:48:07 AM PST by Lorianne
LAKE ELSINORE -- The Planning Commission will decide tonight if "McMansions" are a good fit for a Lake Elsinore neighborhood.
The architect for seven proposed homes has called his design "McMansion" in style. The city's planning department believes "McMansion" has a negative connotation -- a term used to describe "cookie-cutter" homes that don't mesh with surrounding homes.
The commission is being asked to weigh in because the architect, Larry Vesely of Riverside, and the city's planning staff have been unable to come to an agreement on what would be an appropriate architectural style for the homes planned for a vacant lot near Summerhill Road and Scenic Ridge Drive.
"We have decided to agree to disagree," said Lake Elsinore Planning Manager Tom Weiner, describing the standoff.
If the commission agrees with the planning department's recommendation tonight and denies the Vesely design, the architect said Monday his clients, Cesar and Mireya Andaya of Riverside, are prepared to appeal the commission's decision directly to the City Council.
The commission meets at 6 p.m. in the Cultural Center, 183 N. Main Street.
The neighborhood in question, which features mostly two-story ranch homes built in the late 1990s, is east of Interstate 15 off the Railroad Canyon Road offramp.
Since the summer of 2006, the Andayas have been working on building the homes on a cul-de-sac called Boulder Vista Court that will connect with Summerhill.
After reviewing the initial design submitted by Vesely, Lake Elsinore's planners asked him to describe the type of architecture. He said it was Spanish-colonial. The staff didn't agree, asking him to strengthen the Spanish-colonial influence by adding flourishes such as recessed windows and wrought-iron railings.
In response to those suggestions, Vesely submitted documents identifying the homes as "McMansion" in style and he provided background information on "McMansion" architecture printed from the Internet.
Changing the description -- and changing it to "McMansion" in particular -- didn't settle the matter for the staff.
Weiner said the first design didn't -- and the new design doesn't -- mesh with direction from the City Council, which has been trying to encourage a varied mix of homes in the city and stay away from homes with a cookie-cutter feel to them.
"(The design) didn't add any type of flair to the neighborhood," he added.
Vesely said he was amazed to find out that City Hall has recommended denial.
"It is very rare to have this happen. I have never had a project denied without (the administration) even working with us," he said.
Responding to Weiner's contention that the homes need more Spanish colonial-architectural flourishes, Vesely said, "We have that."
He continued: "This is a seven-lot infill project. Everything around it is already developed and we're consistent with the surrounding homes and a step above."
Vesely said it sounds as if his project is caught in the middle of some internal discussion at City Hall.
That's one of the reasons why he and his clients wanted to take their pitch directly to the commission.
"Once they see the presentation, I don't see how the commission would not approve it," he said.
Planning Commission Chairman Michael O'Neal said he was told by the city's planning department that the proposed development fails to meet minimum design standards and the architect has decided not to work with the staffers.
"He has asked to take it to the Planning Commission level and present his side to the case. I'm interested in hearing what the developer has to say," O'Neal said.
He should re-submit the proposal, substituting “Spanish colonial” for the offending word.
No he should call them dorm homes.
In Temecula, city just down the road we’ve got home with 5-8 bedroom - max house on min lot.
I have absolutely heinous memories of Lake hell-senor. I can’t imagine anyone WANTING to live there.
This is why I enjoy where I live. I got three times the house with three times the land for 1/3rd the price of a comparable home in California. There's a decent front yard and an ample back yard, plus the width of four driveways between us and our next-door neighbors. You'd be hard-pressed to find that in most every urban area of California.
They are ugly, but hey, where are you going to put all the illegals in 20-30yrs?
Maybe they prefer having those horrible squat summer “cottages” that are falling down from neglect, or boarded up surrounded by three-foot weeds, or burned down from cooking meth or crack cocaine.
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