A proposed remodel of a bluffside property in Bird Rock with plans to create a new house more than twice the size of the original went before the La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee this week but will return later for a possible vote.
The project at 5386 Calumet Ave. would demolish about 50% of the existing one-story, 1,957-square-foot house and renovate it, resulting in a 4,388-square-foot house with an attached garage.
A previous project resulted in bluff stabilization at the rear of the property, and the proposed development would be set back 13 feet from the bluff.
Currently a fence blocks some of the view corridor, but the new plans would include fences intended to open up the view, according to the application.
During the DPR’s discussion April 14, committee members had questions about the fence materials and size and whether the square footage used to calculate the floor area ratio (the size of the building in relation to its lot) includes the garage.
The applicant team was asked to return with a graphic showing the proposed project in relation to its neighbors, a bluff setback plan, clarification on the FAR and more details about hardscape and drainage plans.
Calumet Avenue recently underwent a series of bluff stabilization projects.
In 2025, permits were issued for two emergency bluff repairs.
In March that year, one such permit proposed repairs to the bluff below 5322 Calumet, extending an erodible concrete seawall — which is designed to recede at the same pace as the earth around it — that was built after a bluff failure in 2010.
Applicant Bob Trettin, whose firm is carrying out the project, said the work would improve safety for the houses above the bluff. He added that other similar projects would be needed in the area.
“One of the problems is when some of these houses were built, they were approved to have a setback 15 feet from the bluff,” Trettin told the La Jolla Light at the time. “That would never happen today. Plus, the bluffs have reached a point where if it fails in one area, it is likely to fail in others.”
Last June, a second application proposed a reinforced shotcrete wall with tieback anchors in the face of a coastal bluff at 5316 Calumet. Shotcrete is concrete sprayed at high velocity onto a surface.
Other DPR news
White Sands work: At the April 14 meeting, a renovation planned for part of the White Sands La Jolla retirement community at 7450 Olivetas Ave. gained DPR approval on its first hearing.
The project would “convert the existing grade-level storage area of [the] five-story multifamily building into a residential unit with a new elevator and access from the basement,” according to a city of San Diego notice.
No new square footage is being added, and the work is limited to the existing footprint of the property. The project includes modifying interior space on the independent-living portion of the property at the basement level, minimal facade changes, new doors and windows, remodeling an existing unit that was abandoned and exterior improvements to site ramps.
With no unanswered questions from the committee, DPR members voted unanimously to support the project, with Chairman Brian Will customarily abstaining.
Next meeting: The La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee meets the second and third Tuesdays of each month. The next meeting is April 21 online. Learn more at lajollacpa.org. ♦