Some are concerned that a proposal to develop six homes on a 4.5-acre lot in La Jolla Shores near the beach will be a community changer for their neighborhood.

The property at 8303 La Jolla Shores Drive reportedly sold recently for $35 million, tying the highest-recorded sales price ever in that neighborhood.

Named Cielo Mar La Jolla, the 4-5-acre parcel is said to have six separate parties planning to build six individual homes onsite. There is an existing 3,304-square-foot home on the property built in the 1940s. It is expected to be torn down to make way for the six new dwellings.

Janie Emerson, a member of La Jolla Shores Association community planning group for the neighborhood, said the project site has a storied history. “This property was owned by the Mosiers who, along with the Kelloggs, owned most of La Jolla Shores including Avenida De La Playa (commercial strip),” she said adding the onsite dwelling “was the family home of Mrs. Mosier.”

When Mrs. Mosier died, Emerson said her children “swapped commercial property on Avenida De La Playa for the Mosier home.” Emerson added the 4.5-acre lot was originally broken into eight separate lots intending to develop seven houses with an addition. But she added, “They were spec homes that were never built.”

Architect Phil Merten, also a La Jolla Shores community planner, said the former Mosier property now consists of six lots “with a property owner for each of the six.” Merten said neighbors of the project site, such as former Congress member Lynn Schenk, whose home is immediately adjacent to the southern boundary of the proposed Cielo Mar, have expressed some concerns about the development.

“I represented Lynn Schenk and they are not opposed to the development,” said Merten. “However, they are opposed to certain aspects of the development that could impact the adjacent property owners.”

Merten said the Schenks are “especially concerned about the proximity of (proposed) swimming pools, athletic fields, and other noise-generating areas on the property that will impact Schenk and her neighbors.”

Merten sent a letter on Aug. 26 to the City’s Development Services Department about the former Mosier property. In that letter, he argued that sound emanating from the project from planned pickleball courts will exceed the maximum allowed; that excessive grading is proposed on all the lots; that overly high retaining walls are planned on the property; that elevated swimming pools onsite are not allowed; and that proposed setbacks for the 4.5-acre parcel do not generally conform with those in the vicinity.

The owners of the property to be redeveloped could not be reached for comment.