Auburn Ave. Mansion Plans Denied Again

After their plans to build a 5,824 square foot home at 756 Auburn Ave. were denied by the Planning Commission in November, Richard and Soledad Meaglia appealed to the City Council at a hearing last week in a last ditch effort to move forward with their proposed dream home. The City Council denied their request to overturn the Planning Commission’s decision and ordered them to go back and work with the Commission on new blueprints.

Their proposed two-story home, which can be viewed above, featured five bedrooms, a library, covered patio, second-level retreat and study loft, plus six bathrooms… one of which was designated a “pool bath” on the blueprints, though no pool is shown on the proposal. A three-car garage was also planned.

The Meaglias were hoping to get a Conditional Use Permit to build their home, which is required for any single-family residence in Sierra Madre that exceeds 4,000 sq. ft.

The home is large… but it’s not the largest in the neighborhood

Though the Meaglias proposed home is quite large, it would not have been the largest on Auburn Ave. Nearby 603 Auburn Ave. is 6,558 sq. ft and 602 Auburn Ave. is 5,790 sq. ft., excluding their garages. The average home size in the Auburn Ave. neighborhood is just over 2,000 sq ft.

The lot the Meaglias were hoping to build on is just over 30,000 sq ft., or .7 of an acre.

Why was the home denied?

The Planning Commission denied the Meaglias request for several reasons, according to city documents. The Commission said the overall design was not compatible with the neighborhood, the home was ill-proportioned, and it would visually overpower and dominate the neighborhood, among other reasons.

“I am not hung up on the numbers,” said Commissioner John Vandevelde at the City Council hearing. “For me it had more to do with the presentation that the house had and that the house, although it was five thousand-something square feet, it seemed bigger. When you stack so much square footage on the second floor, the home seems larger.”

The Meaglias had gone back and forth with the Commission several times last year over blueprints, and presented different options for their home. The Commission said that the changes they incorporated were not enough.

What happens now?

The City Council chose to uphold the Planning Commission’s denial of the Meaglia’s most current blueprints, and ordered the couple to go back and work out a new plan with the Commission.

However, if the Meaglias revise their blueprints to accommodate a 4,000 sq. ft. home, they will not need to address the Commission or obtain a CUP.