Doctor Gets His Controversial Dream House

A Newport Beach-based child psychiatrist who bought an ocean-view lot in San Juan Capistrano for a song six years ago finally got the green light Tuesday to build his dream home.

For his future neighbors, the project has been more of a nightmare. They thought the hillside near their Pacifica San Juan homes would always remain open, not become the location of an ultra-modern-looking house.

City Council members said at their Tuesday meeting it does not matter whether or not they liked the proposed home’s architecture – and some of them clearly did not. All that mattered is the plans worked their way through a process outlined by the council when it first heard the matter two years ago. 

“It’s a sense of relief,” said Arsalan Darmal after the hearing. “I think justice was done.”

Darmal purchased the tax-defaulted, 0.6-acre lot for $5,000 in 2007. City officials didn’t realize the lot existed, so they didn’t have any zoning for the property. The council decided to create new zoning laws in May 2011 just for Darmal’s lot.

As part of its ruling, the council said the city’s Design Review Committee would have final say on the plans, including the architecture, which several neighbors called reminiscent of something in an office park.

The Design Review Committee is usually an advisory body to the Planning Commission. So, after it unanimously approved the 6,600-square-foot home in December, no one appealed the decision.

It wasn’t until the Planning Commission in February heard one smaller aspect of the development, the grading plans, when neighbors launched their offensive, appealing to the City Council.

Neighbors used the grading plan to try to talk about other components of the proposed home.

“It’s so wrong on so many levels,” said Rich Adinolfi, adding the style doesn’t fit with anything in San Juan Capistrano. Harkening to another controversy, he said the house would be a “dinosaur” for his neighborhood. 

“Why does it have to be that size?” asked resident Chris Basaites. “The bottom floor is 3,800 square feet. You could have a one-story home that’s very desirable to live in.”

But Councilman Larry Kramer noted the city’s normal procedures for a custom single-family home don’t typically have even this level of scrutiny.

“As much as I don’t care for the project, the City Council made a decision and what they wanted done has been accomplished,” Kramer said.

Darmal said the house would be a home for his four children, their families and his mother. He also said he plans to live in peace with his future neighbors.

His regret is that the cost of construction has probably increased 25 percent in the time it’s taken the plans to work their way through the various commissions and committees.

Meanwhile, Adinolfi said the 39 residents who appealed the Planning Commission’s approval of the grading plans probably don’t have the financial wherewithal to pursue a legal challenge.

“I wish we did,” he said.

• Check out  all our latest headlines
• Sign up to receive the daily Patch newsletter
• Follow SJC Patch on Facebook and Twitter