LOT SIZE AND SHAPE

Figure 54: Aerial View, Van Nuys Figure 55: Existing Pavement Widths, Beverly Hills

The 1950s San Fernando Valley image of cookie-cutter residential lots with look alike houses and wide expanses of anonymous buildings is perhaps the result of little attention by developers to early planning; this is evident in an aerial view from the cover of a Reseda-West Van Nuys District Plan. (Fig.54) In fact, the gridiron street system and lack of regard for vistas by the early developers, might be one of the factors that contributed to the present-day and notorious visual pollution of parts of the Valley. Placement of dwellings on lots at Owensmouth seemed quite straightforward, (type or style not specified); residences had to face the north-south streets, not the east-west ones and they had to be placed, according to Los Angeles zoning, "no less than thirty feet from the front and ten feet from the side lines." ^Ref.31

Planning of residential lots at Palos Verdes Estates was as carefully considered as the layout of streets. The topography of the peninsula determined to a large extent the street system, which in turn determined the block layouts, the streets, and lot shapes and sizes Residential lots ranged from about 60 x 125 feet to an acre or so. The approval of building on residential sites at Palos Verdes Estates was made on a case-by-case basis by the Art Jury, and because lot sizes varied, the deed restrictions determined a proportion of the lot for single family dwellings:

Restrictions, as to the total area of the lot which may be covered by all buildings upon it, will limit single family dwellings to occupy not more than 30% of the area of the lot.^Ref.32

Figure 56: Detail, Developed Areas of Palos Verdes Estates Figure 57: Haggarty Residence, by Armand Monaco, Architect, Malaga Cove District, Palos Verdes Estates, 1928 Figure 58: Preliminary Layout for Block 1277, Margate Subdivision, Palos Verdes Estates

Lot variations are evident on a planning map of the northern section of the Malaga Cove district of Palos Verdes Estates. (Fig.56) Lots are wide and irregularly shaped at the western edge of the ocean bluff. Several could be purchased for a residential site as in the case of the three on which the Haggarty house is located. (Fig.57) Across the street from this Italianate villa, the foreground of an early photograph shows a wedge-shaped lot, typical of those at Palos Verdes Estates. Other sections of the community, like the northern subdivision of Valmonte, had smaller rectangular lots laid out in a narrow gridiron pattern, somewhat reminiscent of tract developments, but apparently the only solution to the block layout. A sectional map of the Margate district shows the planning scheme for the shopping plaza and the nearby residential area. (Fig.58) Here, uniform shapes of lots combine with more irregular ones, evident in the northeast section of the map where lots fronting Margate Road become angular at the traffic circle and the intersection of Addison Road.

Lots in the higher elevations, west of Granvia La Costa, are also arranged in clusters around street networks. As the contours of the northeastern section of Palos Verdes Estates rise, the lots are more irregular and varied in size and shape, becoming rectangular, trapezoidal and even triangular. The curvilinear street system determined the shape of lots, exemplified by the plan of the garden and grounds for Mr. A. E. Cameron. The curving street Via del Monte borders one side of the heavily landscaped property. (Fig.59) At Palos Verdes Estates, the irregular shapes and sizes of lots on various elevations, instead of a hindrance to building residential architecture, became a feature that provided inspiration for the picturesque disposition of houses and gardens with near and distant vistas. It also allowed for interesting placement of terraces, steps, gardens, patios, walkways, and paths. An illustration from a promotional booklet includes photographs showing the variety of possibilities for exterior landscaping of houses located on irregularly contoured lots. (Fig.60)

Figure 59: Plan of Garden and Grounds of Mr. A. E. Cameron, Palos Verdes Estates by Olmsted Brothers, Landscape Architects

Figure 60: "Home Architecture as Developed Under The Guidance of the Palos Verdes Art Jury," Photograph by Padilla Studios, Los Angeles

The upper class lots for single-family dwellings in Palos Verdes Estates and Beverly Hills were ample in size to accommodate custom-designed residences plus amenities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, stables, kennels, and gardens. If the lots were irregular, the architects and landscape designers would use that to an advantage. The higher elevations of Beverly Hills, north of Sunset Boulevard, had residential properties in the category of "estates," that is, usable land of one and one-half acres or more.^Ref.34 One such example is the elongated rectangular property set on the irregular contour of a hill for the Benjamin R. Meyer Estate. (Fig.61)

Figure 61: Plan of Grounds of Benjamin R. Meyer Estate, Beverly Hills, by Paul G. Thiene, Landscape Architect