Facts About Aerie61,709 square feet, 6 levels, 8 condominiums averaging 3,678.25 sq ft of living space per unit, 1,181.75 sq ft of garage and storage per unit and 2,853 sq ft of common area per unit for a total average building area of 7,713 sq feet per unit. The lot size is 61,284 sq ft, including bluff face and submerged land. Carnation Cove is part of the submerged land. The lot combines two adjacent properties, one currently with a 14-unit apartment complex and the other a single family house. The current structures on the two adjoining properties total less than 16,498 square feet. Aerie is nearly 4 times larger on the same lot size. The City has a General Plan which regulates development and includes a Coastal Land Use Plan. Section 4 of the Coastal Land Use Plan states over and over that developers must “design and site new development to minimize alterations to significant natural landforms, including bluffs” (4.4.1-3), “Permit such improvements…..when designed and constructed to minimize alteration of the bluff face, and to be visually compatible with the surrounding area to the maximum extent feasible” (4.4.3-8), “employ site design and construction techniques to minimize alteration of coastal bluffs to the maximum extent feasible” (4.4.3-12), and most importantly, “sitting new development on the flattest area of the site, except when an alternative location is more protective of coastal resources.” (4.4.3-12a) RFRD believes that this project fails in every category. The Aerie developer claims that a lot of 61,284 sq ft is sufficient for construction of a 61,709 sq ft building. What he does not say is that 66% of the 1.4 acres is submerged or slope of greater than 50%. This is a significant coastal bluff protected under the provisions of the Coastal Land Use Plan and the Coastal Act. Additionally, there is a sand beach on this property which must be open to public access either from the street or the water. A proposed Marina of 9 slips accommodating boats of the following sizes: 1 -100’ slip, 2 – 55’ foot slips, 1 – 45’ slip, 3 – 40’ slips, 1 – 35’ slip and 1 guest dock of 35’. Construction will require removal of 25,240 cubic yards of bluff. The developer estimates that excavation alone will require approximately 2,177 truck trips. The developer estimates the total truck trips for all construction to be 2,926 truck trips. This includes 622 cement trucks trips or 20 to 25 per day. This is massive construction, unlike anything the beach area of Corona Del Mar has seen since the building of Channel Reef back in the 1960’s. |
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