NO PAIN, NO GAIN

A NEW HOME IN HERMOSA BEACH OVERCOMES MULTIPLE HURDLES TO EMBRACE DRAMATIC PACIFIC VIEWS

- J. MICHAEL WELTON

A slim lot, a 10-foot drop, and a series of local ordinances all worked mightily to influence the design of a new home in Hermosa Beach, California.

Like most lots there, this one’s 30 feet wide and 100 feet long from the street to the alley at its rear. And it rises 10 feet along the way.

“So this is a skinny box,” says architectural designer Jon Starr, owner of the local design firm that bears his name. He’s worked on at least 130 homes in the Manhattan and Hermosa Beach areas since starting his company in 1998. By now, he knows the local players and the rules of engagement well.

For this project he drew on both, since Hermosa Beach home-height limits are tied to the topography. In this case, that meant the slope of the lot determined the home’s maximum height of 30 feet.

“The rules are dictated by local municipal codes and zoning ordinances—setbacks, height restrictions, open-space requirements—and that all revolves around parking,” he says. “The street elevation dictates where the garage is located, which dictates the floor below and the floor above.”

“Digging into the front of the lot was the only code-compliant way to get the desired square footage for the basement,” says Chris Lombardi, founder and president of Lombardi Construction. “The basement’s flush with the downhill side at the front of the building, and runs 53 feet back.”