The Art Jury finally stamped the drawings allowing the City to issue the construction permit.
It only took 22 months and $40,000 just to get to this point! Now let's build it!

The Art Jury finally reviewed the final details for a wall cap, roofline, and chimney. That was what they were holding up the permits for. All of these these items are aesthetic and located at the top of the house. None of these items would have impacted the foundation permit.

The structural plan check was cleared today with the City building inspector.
The City also issued us a partial foundation permit. It was partial because the Art Jury wanted to see some aesthetic details before allowing any work on the patio or front porch foundations. Total overkill in my opinion!

Well we got a permit to allow for a partial demolition. The Art Jury is holding this up saying that they want to see some details on the plans.

I hope this is the last one.

Today we hired our general contractor, Rich Wright Construction. Rich was highly recommended by everyone I talked to and is a master woodworker. He also surfs!

Today we sent out packages to four different contractors to start the bid process. I used Service Magic to get matched up to contractors that could do this sort of work.
We need to get this going as the contractor will be pulling the permits.

The City asked for more money today to look at the plans.

The design Development drawings were sent to the structural engineer at Palos Verdes Engineering.

The Art Jury is requesting another payment to look at the plans.

Tony Lee, a soils engineer, came out today to take core samples of the soil around 4 parts of the house.

The city has requested a soils report today.

The silhouette finally can come down now that we waited the 15 days appeal time following the Planning Commission meeting.

Today my architect, Olympia Greer, and I appeared before the Planning Commission.
Click here to see the meeting (44 min / 26.8 MB) and YES I know I move around too much in the presentation so please don't tell me.

In addition to the architect, I appeared before the board to counter complaints by the house next door to the North. The complaint was that ambient light would be blocked by the new house. I didn't sleep well the first night after hearing of the complaint but on the second night at 3AM I woke up with an idea. I went online and downloaded sun position data for the darkest day of the year in Los Angeles, December 21. Since this is the lowest the sun will ever be in the sky I could see what the worst case situation would be for the blocking of ambient light. I charted the sun position on overhead as well as side view charts showing both houses. It clearly showed that on the worst day of the year, the sun would go behind the top corner of the house from 2PM. At the meeting I gave each commissioner a set of charts and walked through them. Some were shaking their heads and making facial expressions that seemed to say "get a life", and "you can't dispute the facts". One commissioner thought they meant their view would be blocked. Three things, I believe, helped me.

1) They don't really have a view,
2) The house isn't in the direction of their view to the west/southwest, and
3) The written letter specifically said "ambient light".

Another complaint was by a neighbor to the southwest who complained that the house would look like a big apartment building. We accommodated them and put in a window and balcony to soften the appearance. I think I got the better end of the deal on that one.

Needless to say it was a nail-biter but we won approval by 3 to 2.

The silhouette flags were readjusted to show the shallower pitch requested by the Art Jury. The entire roof design was changed.

The Art Jury reviewed the design today but had some issues. They didn't like the steep pitch of the roof and said the shed dormer made the house look like it was 3 stories, etc., etc. Back to the drawing board...

The silhouette flags were installed on the house today. This allows neighbors to see how the proposed house impacts the neighborhood.
For all silhouette pictures, please visit the Photo Gallery.

The initial design is ready for the Art Jury and Planning Commission to review. The issues were that we were mixing Ranch and Colonial style features on the house and that we should pick one....so we picked Craftsman. In California, it evolved from the California Bungalow. Craftsman-style houses are evident all around the Los Angeles area and especially in Pasadena where Greene and Greene really developed this style from their Japanese and native material influences. The Gamble House is a big inspiration in this project.

Reviewed the initial design with the architect.

Before I get into the daily details, it would first be beneficial to tell you how the construction process works in Palos Verdes Estates. I found a great picture on their web site that is posted below. Basically, all construction needs to go through the Art Jury, part of the PVE Homes Association, and the the City's Planning Commission.

The first step is to get your drawings approved for aesthetics by the Art Jury. After their blessing, you can then go to the Planning Commission where they will weigh in on neighborhood compatibility, and listen to any neighbor's concerns. If there are concerns, you go before the Planning Commission and defend or compsomise on your position. The 5 members then vote to approve or deny your request for a permit. A majority of 3 members is required to grant approval.