Have you ever driven around one of the coastal communities and noticed a series of tall white poles, or perhaps 2 X 4s, in a vacant lot or in the yard of an existing home? You may also have noticed ropes or wires running between them and they may have had a series of different colored flags or ribbons hanging from them.

[photo at left taken in Solana Beach]

These are known as Story Poles (a local company in Encinitas, C-Story Poles does much of the story pole installation in the area and you will see their signage everywhere you see the poles). And their purpose is to indicate to adjacent homeowners, and decision makers in the community (say a building review board), the outlines or silhouette of a home to be built, or in more frequent situations, the proposed addition or expansion of the existing home. 

This is a good thing for abutting homeowners, who have the opportunity to see how a proposed addition or new home will impact the local environment and potentially affect views, and it's good for their neighbors too. Communities often have specific regulations that prohibit homeowners from adding on to their homes in a way that significantly impacts the views of neighbors, especially of the ocean, or building massive homes ("mansionization") on small lots. So being able to visualize the outline of a new addition is helpful to the neighbors, as well as the town, to determine if the new structure can be allowed or not in its proposed form.

Towns (e.g., Del Mar) may have requirements regarding (1) if story poles are required, (2) when the poles are to be installed,  (3) what they are to indicate about the planned project, and (4) the role they play in the process of ruling on a proposed project.

Story poles can be rather controversial, given the nature of the projects they are representing. Solana Beach, for example, has had problems with vandals tearing down a large group of story poles at a site along Route 101 at the north end of town where a proposed hotel may be built - this has been a controversial project for some time given the potential impact on ocean views. Proponents argue the hotel will provide much needed tax revenue. Time will tell.

If you are buying a home that you are considering remodeling, you may want to check with the town building department to see what the requirements are, as well as any ordinance that may impact your ability to add on, build up, etc. Don't make any assumptions, since regulations can vary significantly from place to place.