A remodeling project won't raise the height of a house at 250 Sandpiper Drive, yet neighbors question the "two story" label attached to its code-variance request.
A remodeling project to transform a 1980s-era house on the North End by giving its exterior South African-inspired architecture with Dutch Colonial-style decorative gables has won the enthusiastic support of the Palm Beach Architectural Commission.
"I think it's an absolute smash hit," Commissioner John David Corey said about the project designed for 250 Sandpiper Drive during its initial review at the board's Wednesday meeting.
His colleagues agreed, describing the design as "attractive," "charming," "beautiful," "divine" and "fabulous" before unanimously approving the architecture and landscaping. They also endorsed a code-variance request related to the project.
"I'll pile on the praising, I guess," said architect Vice Chairman Richard Sammons, who had been elected to that post by his colleagues at the start of the meeting, along with new Chairman Jeffery Smith, another architect.
Palm Beach architect Kyle Fant of Bartholemew + Partners designed the remodel for longtime Palm Beach residents Judith and Achille Guest. The bought the 1989 house, with its French-influenced architecture and prominent Mansard-style roof, about a year ago.
The remodel would include changes to the arrangement of some windows and the entry portico, including the addition of a shapely gabled frontispiece surrounding the front door.
Two similar gables would be added at the roofline at the rear of the house, where a new pergola-sheltered patio would face the new pool. In all, the four-bedroom house would have 4,340 square feet of living space, inside and out.
The project would keep the so-called "footprint" of the residence basically intact, the plans showed. It also would remodel a small living space above the garage wing.
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But the work would not add height to the house nor otherwise increase the scale of the building, an attorney for the Guests assured the board.
The commission's response may have been enthusiastic, but the project — or more accurately Town Hall's description of the midblock project as having two stories — had prompted several letters of concern from residents on the street, where every house has a low streetside profile. The street is the fourth one north of the Palm Beach Country Club.
Across the North End over the past decade, residents have frequently objected –— often strenuously so — when larger houses are proposed for their street. Those much-in-demand houses disrupt the traditional look and feel of their small-scale neighborhoods, while blocking sunlight in yards and streets, the residents argue.
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Neighbors on Sandpiper had received a heads-up notice that mentioned the Town Council would be asked to approve the variance for a side-yard setback related to the "two-story" portion of the building above the garage.
The town's code employs the two-story term, and it was used by Planning and Zoning Assistant Director James G. Murphy at the beginning of the meeting when he described the project and the variance request.
Attorney Timothy Hanlon, representing the Guests, emphasized that the project would not add a second story to the house, where almost all of the living area is on the first floor.
Neighbors: Will it open a door?
The neighbors were concerned that using the "two-story" language related to the variance request could open the door for much-larger houses on the street in the future, neighbor John Dyson told the board.
"I represent my wife and about 30 of our neighbors – you've gotten letters from six or seven. Why has there been such an outrage? The answer is in your notice description of 'an existing nonconforming two-story residence.' And we don't want two-story residences on Sandpiper. We don't have any two-story residences. You can argue: Well, this little attic here (above the garage) is something else," said Dyson, who lives with his wife, Kathe, at 970 N. Ocean Blvd. at the east end of Sandpiper Drive.
"We would like the (planning and zoning) staff and this commission to stop referring to this as a two-story residence."
The more appropriate language, he said, could be found in the sales listing when the house last changed hands: a one-story split-level residence.
"This is in fact a one-story home with a split level over the garage," Dyson said.
Hanlon said the same split-level description was included with the original house plans from the late 1980s.
Owners: Design is in keeping with neighborhood
The variance request is expected to go before the Town Council April 13.
The variance was repeatedly mentioned in letters of objection sent to Town Hall before the architectural board meeting, including one from Holly and Gerry Cardinale of 208 Sandpiper Drive.
"We would be very concerned that any variance change for 250 Sandpiper would provide a precedence for possible future two-story homes to be constructed. Keeping the charm and character of Sandpiper with single-story family homes is our wish," the Cardinales wrote.
The latter statement echoed one made to the commission by property owner Achille Guest, who said he and his wife had no desire to disrupt the look of the neighborhood with their remodeling project.
"We wish to maintain the unique and charming aspect of Sandpiper Drive," Guest said. "The existing home as it is constructed is wonderful, and our intent is to have it very much in keeping with the structure that it is today. We love the street, the neighborhood and intend to contribute to its charm."
With ties to Virginia, the Guests are part of a family with deep roots in Palm Beach. Achille Guest's late father, horse-breeder Raymond Guest, was a former ambassador to Ireland, a championship polo player and the grandson of Henry W. Phipps Jr., the Florida real estate investor who, with his family, at one point owned a third of the land in Palm Beach.
Shift on the dais
The meeting saw several commission seats shuffled after former board Chairman Michael B. Small, Commissioner Alexander Ives and Alternate Commissioner Katherine Catlin stepped down in February because of term limits.
In their place, the Town Council appointed businessman Kenn Karakul, a former commissioner, to the board and promoted Sammons from alternate to voting member. Taking the vacant alternate seats were Elizabeth Connaughton, an architectural and urban designer; and Josh Martin, a former director of the Planning, Zoning and Building department.
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Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly "Beyond the Hedges" column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call (561) 820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
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