COSTA MESA

A Mesa Verde homeowner in the middle of remodeling what has become a controversial house may have to tear down the stairwell in her home because it violates the city’s required setback.

The City Council on Monday voted 5 to 0 to uphold the Planning Commission’s decision to deny an administrative adjustment that would have allowed the 4-foot-5-inch encroachment.

Homeowner Tracy Stevenson and her neighbors in Mesa Verde have been embroiled in recent months in a dispute over what has been described as a “massive” and “overwhelming” structure on Samoa Place.

A corner of Stevenson’s home that includes the stairwell measures 15 feet, 7 inches from the curb where a 20-foot setback is required. Joseph Warner, Stevenson’s boyfriend, argued that city staff had approved a minor modification of 20% which would have allowed a variance of 4 feet.

Senior Planner Willa Bouwens-Killeen said that Stevenson and Warner had mistaken a note she wrote on one of their plans for a minor modification as an official approval when it was not.