Permit Review Committee Asks for Additional Information for Historic House Expansion

The La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee met Tuesday afternoon at the to have a preliminary discussion about a permit to expand a historic house in La Jolla Village.

La Jolla residents Wally and Michelle Bender purchased a property on the west side of Coast Boulevard more than two years ago. The coastal property has two separate houses, a modern home and a smaller house built in the early 1920s. The Benders wish to reconstruct the smaller house, which community members often call the Sea Cliffs House.

In the last six months the Benders have started to take the necessary steps to reconstruct the small house, which they are now calling Manzanita Cottage.

Carlsbad architect Tim Martin presented the plan to the committee and asked for a 13 foot setback for the property lines. Earlier this year, the asked the homeowners to keep the existing roof, making it difficult for the addition to stay within the existing property lines. The cottage is roughly 1,300 square feet and the Benders want to add roughly 450 square feet for a garage to aid parking.

After hearing from Martin, the committee asked the Benders to meet again next week to continue the property line discussion. Committee members want to see more photographs of the property at the next meeting, and also want to see samples of the building material.

Michelle Bender said she hopes the project will be completed as soon as possible. “But who knows,” she said, “It could take years.”