Effort at historic renovation goes wrong, may bring $100,000 fine

Chris and Jessica Iovenko said they purchased their 1920s-era house in 2007 with the intent of keeping it from a developer’s grasp and the wrecking ball.

But in the process of trying to restore the home, which is designated as part of Laguna Beach’s historic inventory, various steps in the rehabilitation process had the effect of doing to the home what the couple said they had hoped to avoid. And now the Iovenkos face a potential fine of up to $100,000 for an illegal demolition.

While being sympathetic to the owner’s intention of preserving the structure’s historic integrity, Laguna Beach planning commissioners last week said rules were not followed during its renovation, leading to its virtual destruction, and therefore the couple should be fined.

The commissioners also decided that the couple should not be able to conduct any new construction at the site for the next two years.

The meeting was the first time commissioners discussed potential penalties for illegal demolition of a house included in the city’s historic inventory since a city ordinance regarding the issue was amended nine years ago.

“We were shocked, dismayed and very frustrated” with the commission’s decision, Chris Iovenko wrote in an email. “When the site was first shut down in April, the city’s own architectural historian [Andrea Galvin], who has been engaged with the project since the beginning, outlined a clearand legal way to move forward and complete the project, which was after seven years finally nearing the finish line. Why the city has ignored her counsel and instead pursued this extremely punitive course of action doesn’t make sense to us.”

Iovenko said the couple will appeal the commission’s decision to the City Council.

In a letter to the city, Iovenko said the single-family house built in 1927 suffered from decades of neglect. He assembled a team that included a contractor, architect and historic preservationist to restore the home, once occupied by Laguna plein air artist George Brandriff.

The Iovenkos, who live in another house on the same street, received Design Review Board approval in January 2013 and a building permit in January to demolish an existing garage, build a new garage and construct a 325-square-foot addition to the home.

But in April, a building inspector said work must stop because “onsite construction had exceeded the authorized scope of work and a majority of the exterior walls had been removed,” according to a city staff report.

The couple’s architect, Bob McGraw, told commissioners that when he first visited the property, he noticed a rotting floor and fig vine-engulfed walls that were deteriorating. A structural engineer said the roof had a hole in it.

The Iovenkos’ contractor, Bill Robinson, said he tried to lift the roof carefully so not to disturb the walls, but they eventually fell. The walls were built with single-wall construction, which means they aren’t buffered with insulation.

“Once we started replacing the roof rafters, it was kind of giving out,” Robinson said. The contractor said he put the walls to the side and intends to place them back on the home.

He said crews scrambled to fix the problem but didn’t notify the city about the collapse.

Commissioner Susan Whitin said she wondered why a phone call to the city was never made.

“A rotting floor is dangerous,” Whitin said. “Why wasn’t the city contacted about that? Construction is an orderly process. Everyone on site knows that it is heavily regulated and there are penalties. My concern is historic resources are dwindling and if we allow a situation where we define partial demolition to mean you can take the whole building down and go forward, it sets a bad precedent.”

The Wave Street house is labeled K on Laguna Beach’s letter rating system for houses on its historic inventory. E represents those with outstanding historical architectural integrity; K is for structures that have very good historical integrity; and C is reserved for buildings that contribute to the overall character and history of a neighborhood but are not necessarily unique.

“We didn’t want to demo anything in the beginning; that was not our intention,” McGraw said.

Commissioner Roger McErlane said he hopes there is a way to restore the house but agreed with colleagues that a violation occurred.

“I think there was a huge screw up in terms of following a process,” McErlane said. “A qualified team was put together, but clearly there wasn’t enough coordination.”

Chris Iovenko said team members regularly communicated with each other and tried to follow all procedures.

“When the wall issue came up, [Robinson] consulted with [Galvin], and he thought that he was permitted to temporarily remove the walls in order to correctly and safely frame the house so long as the original walls were kept on site and replaced as soon as possible,” Iovenko said.

Galvin told commissioners during the meeting that she was abiding by U.S. Department of Interior standards in trying to salvage the project.

“There is enough historic fabric, documentation that it could be put back together exactly the way it was before without compromising its ability to convey its historic significance,” she said.

Commissioner Anne Johnson said she understands the nature of single-wall construction because she lives in a house with that feature.

“I do believe this applicant acted in good faith, but the reality is the walls collapsed and there really isn’t that much of a project there anymore,” Johnson said.

The Iovenkos could be fined up to $100,000 for an illegal demolition, the staff report says.