Ahhhh, architectural typology and vernacular.  Unless you live in a City like Palos Verdes where there is a very stringent Art Jury or a Homes Association which regulates the exact look of your home, you can pretty much build whatever kind of house you want to.  (Within reason…)

So when the fluorescent yellow notice was staked into our lawn and the vicinity letters went out to all our neighbors within a one mile radius letting them know that we were wanting to build a new house, (which was going up in front of the planning commission for variance approvals) we were taken aback, literally, by a letter which was submitted to the City from one of our neighbors opposing our project.  What?!?!?

I almost feel guilty writing about this, but I need to share!  Their complaints included the following:

1. the reduced side yard setback we requested will bring our proposed building too close to their house, creating insufficient light and air on the West side of their property.
2. The proximity of our proposed home would create noise issues.
3. the height of our proposed building will block their view of the ocean.
4. the typology (contemporary) will ruin the look of our current neighborhood.

We did not have time to reply to our neighbors since the letter was submitted to the City just one day prior to our variance meeting before the Planning Commissioners and I admit that since our ‘unanimous’ approval of said variances, we have yet to address their issues personally, but all we really have to say is…

“Suck it.”

Kidding.  We are not that rude, but I would like to formally and publicly address their issue here.  I suppose when our plans make it through the Building Department and we are officially ready to build, we will write them a tasteful letter and let them know that, “We are very sorry for how you feel, but the house will be built exactly as we proposed it.”

So let’s talk about what they are so concerned about.

1. Believe me.  I did not want to design our house to be any closer to our neighbors than it had to be.  If our substandard lot was not so narrow, I would have put the required 5′ in between our homes.  Yes, there will be less air flow and natural light but that’s not just their issue.  We will have to suffer the consequences as well.  (Detailed explanation in this post.)
2. Noise.  With any construction project, there is bound to be construction noise for the duration of a build.  That is why every city has construction hours in place for the protection of the neighbors as well as other precautions a contractor must ensure to maintain the safety of the public.  We will obviously adhere to all rules and regulations.  But post construction…?  What can we say.  There is a certain amount of “noise” which accompanies child-rearing.  They will most likely hear our kids playing on the mezzanine roof deck from time to time.  But we purposefully did not design any “noisy” rooms on the East side of our property.  There are no windows (zero) on the first floor of their house.  There are two small bathroom windows and one bedroom window on their second floor.  As we see it, the reduced light and air will not negatively affect their side yard where they currently keep their trash bins.  If anything, we will be the suffering party as we actually designed windows into our house and that is the side of our front door.  But hey, it is what it is.  We took pains to make sure that none of our 2nd story windows looked directly into ANY of their (3) windows for our OWN privacy.  And finally on this issue of noise.  Might I mention that we have never complained because we are a family that loves animals, but they have a dog that barks on occasion…
3. Our lot is to the West of our neighbor’s property and as we all know, the ocean is… to the West.  This is not our fault.  If you want an unobstructed view of the Pacific, move to the Strand.  Nothing will come between you and the glorious deep blue except for the Strand itself and a lovely stretch of sand.  I know that sounds snooty, but even without our side-yard variances, we could still build to the height limit of 30′ (our proposal is under that at 29′-9″) so some of their “views” would still be blocked – variances or not.  There is nothing we can change about our geographic location and since there are no view corridor protection laws in the Building Code for Redondo Beach, their view argument is unfounded.
4. And last but not least, overall appearance.  The exact comment from their letter read as follows, “the traditional aesthetics of the immediate neighborhood will be negatively affected starting a possibly trend of Hermosa Beach like neighborhoods.”  …  …  …  Oka-y…  …  …  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and now we know there are people out there who don’t like the look of Hermosa Beach neighborhoods.  Yes, a hipped roof is a “traditional” design element, but just because a house has a hipped roof, it does not mean the rest of it is designed well nor does it mean it’s traditional in vernacular.  We are proposing an unabashedly contemporary design and though we respect that it is not a style that everyone prefers, it is also not trying to be something that it is not.  We refuse to build an ugly stucco box with a hipped roof just so we can fit into some preconceived or arbitrary aesthetic category.  I love all types of architecture.  I have nothing against the ‘Coastal Plantation’ homes that have been popping up like weeds all over town, nor do I have issue with ‘Coastal Modern’ homes with Ipé wood siding which trended before that, or Mediterranean, Spanish, Craftsman… anything really, if its done right.  What I do take issue with are individuals whom live in a stucco box with a hipped roof and of no particular vernacular other than ‘ugly’ telling me that my contemporary house does not fit the aesthetic of our neighborhood.

They should just be happy that they don’t have to live next to this.

Or this…