House plans rile neighbors

Property owner proposes destroying Main Street bungalow and building mansion; opponents say it will destroy character of historic neighborhood.A plan to knock down a Main Street cottage and replace it with a 5,300-square-foot mansion has riled residents and set the stage for a battle over this historic neighborhood.

The small stucco bungalow at 737 Main St. could be transformed into a five-room luxury Italian villa towering 31 feet in the air -- much higher than its neighbors on either side. If the new home is built to code, owner Raisa Markarian will likely be able to move forward, city officials said. But neighbors are planning a fight and say the new house will change the character of their neighborhood.

“A lot of people have worked to preserve their homes in the style they were built in the 1920s,” said neighbor Nuanna Robinson. “If they put that house in here, it will make all the other cottages look bad.”

Main Street is arguably Surf City’s most famous thoroughfare. A few miles in length, the small strip starts near Beach Boulevard and ends at the pier. Main Street is home to City Hall and Huntington Beach High School and is the epicenter of downtown’s restaurant and retail district. On a small stretch between Palm and Adams avenues sits the small Wesley historic residential district, a throwback to the 1950s where residents drink iced tea on their front porches and watch the annual Fourth of July parade.

“Everyone knows each other and always stops and says ‘hello,’” Robinson said. “It’s like Mayberry.”

It’s not uncommon for visitors to take a leisurely stroll along the street to admire the 1920s-era homes, neighbor Ruthe Gorman said.

“I’ve had people knock on my door and ask for a tour,” she said.

Both Gorman and Robinson have launched a campaign to block construction of the new two-story villa with three private decks, cultured stone balusters and an expanded garage with an upstairs apartment.

Markarian was unavailable for comment, and her architect Thomas Drummond did not return several phone calls. Public records show that Markarian owns multiple properties in Los Angeles and Orange counties -- including two other homes in Huntington Beach -- under the Markarian Family Trust.

While the Main Street property sits in a historic neighborhood, it remains unclear what, if any, recourse neighbors have to stop the plan if the new home meets all the building codes.

Markarian has already submitted her proposal to the planning department for approval, according to a recent memo from the planning director, Howard Zelefsky, to City Administrator Penny Culbreth-Graft.

“There are several aspects of the proposed residence that need to be addressed,” Zelefsky wrote, including an environmental assessment of the demolition.

The assessment will be reviewed by a special environmental committee that will determine if the project will have a negative impact on the community. The committee will not be looking at the construction of the new home, city planner Wayne Carvalho said, “because it complies with the zoning requirements and the building codes. They’ll be looking at the impacts of demolishing a historic neighborhood.”

If the environmental committee determines the demolition would have a negative impact, the project could be referred to a zoning administrator. At that stage, it will likely be approved but could later be appealed to the planning commission and ultimately to the City Council. Robinson has been contacting council members and is preparing for a showdown at City Hall.

“At this point, we’ll do anything we can to stop this project,” she said.

QUESTION

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