Laguna Beach — The Design Review Board continued a decision on Friday about decorative copper chimney shrouds and exterior stone cladding at 2755 Park Avenue, directing the property owner to shrink the shrouds and asking staff to coordinate with building officials on the minimum required spark-arrestor heights before the board considers the application again.

The board took up a combined design-review request for exterior stone veneer across the main residence and related detached structures, plus the addition of two decorative copper chimney shrouds that were already installed without permits. Staff told the board it recommended approval of the exterior stone and the design-review entitlement and recommended finding the work exempt from CEQA under the categorical-exemption provision for small new construction (CEQA Guidelines §15303).

Neighbors who live below and behind the house, including Shelley and Steve Sasaki, opposed the chimney shrouds. They told the board the copper caps “double” the visual mass of the chimneys, sit at the Sasakis’ eye level, and draw attention in a narrow view corridor. Neighbors also asked the board to require a non‑glare material up front rather than a copper finish that will “patina over time.” The applicant, homeowner Cyrus Gedennian and designer Monica Furst, said the shrouds were purchased to cover unattractive spark-arrestors and that the fireplaces use gas logs; Gedennian said the caps cost about $6,000 and match other copper elements on the home.

Board members and staff agreed the stone veneer was an appropriate cladding change but repeatedly described the installed shrouds as oversized. Several members said the shrouds, as constructed, have a larger width and profile than needed and focus attention in the Sasakis’ view corridor. The board emphasized it was reviewing the project as if the unpermitted work had not been performed — a point the chair repeated when noting that voluntary payment for materials does not change the entitlement analysis.

After deliberations the board voted unanimously to continue the item to the board’s special meeting in November with direction for the applicant to reduce the shrouds “to the minimum amount appropriate” and for staff to coordinate with Building & Safety on the minimum code requirements for spark arrestors and whether the arrestors can be reduced in height. The board said staff should return proposed revised drawings or a clear agreed-upon specification so the board can consider the reduced shrouds and the approved cladding together.

What’s next: The board continued the item to the special meeting scheduled in early November (the board identified November 6 as a tentative target). The applicant said they would present either a reduced shroud design at the continued hearing or accept separate subsequent submittal for the shrouds after staff review. Staff will also confirm the building-code requirements for chimney/spark-arrestor height (board discussion referenced the commonly applied rule that chimneys must be two feet above the roof within a 10-foot horizontal distance) and work with the applicant on a permitted replacement, if possible.

Evidence/provenance: Staff introduced the application and its recommendation in the staff presentation (staff report: 2755 Park Avenue) and documented the unpermitted shrouds and code-enforcement history. Neighbors provided testimony during the public comment period and the board recorded deliberations instructing the applicant to reduce the shrouds prior to the next hearing.