Nixing Caruso's Miramar

The last time many of us checked it seemed like a love-fest between developer extraordinaire Rick Caruso (The Grove, the Americana at Brand) and the good people of Montecito. Caruso had big plans to remake the historic Miramar Hotel. He was talking about 204 rooms, fancy restaurants and a beach and tennis club with 300 members. And he had been welcomed with open arms, especially after the disastrous ownership of hotelier Ian Schrager. Well, cancel all that. After 12 hours of back and forth at the Montecito Planning Commission, Caruso says he's ready to just sell the land he bought 19 months ago and call it a day. "I have my own financial concerns," he told board members. "Let someone else figure something else out for the property." The Santa Barbara Independent has all the gory details of what happened, but it boils down to the usual standoff between community demands and developer returns. There were arguments about water supply, building heights, tennis court lights – it’s a long list. This might be a bluff, of course, but it sounds like there’s just too much stuff on the table for Caruso’s side to bother with. He doesn’t need the tsuris.

Critics have likened the size of the main building, which had a height of 49 feet — 11 feet above the maximum allowed by the Montecito Community Plan — to that of the Goleta Home Depot store. But supporters said opponents were nit-picky and didn’t want anything built on the property. “They don’t know their mass from a hole in the ground,” said Miramar supporter Bob Hazard. Afterward, many were saying the commission was unfair to Caruso.

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Observers anticipated that whatever decision was made by the MPC Wednesday, it would be appealed by the losing side. But because the board didn’t approve or deny the project and instead chose to continue the project to August 28, an appeal of the board’s decision to the Board of Supervisor by Caruso isn’t even possible. Both sides were anticipating an inevitable lawsuit contesting whatever decision the supervisors would have made. Opponents have plenty of money to pay lawyer’s fees for and nobody can question that Caruso has deep pockets.

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Caruso had indicated in the past that he wouldn’t hold onto the project should an EIR be required. In fact, with investors waiting anxiously in the wings to see their $400 million or so — Caruso hasn’t said how much the project will cost — be used, he won’t wait. And the county, expected to make more than $1 million per year in hotel tax on the site, knew it. From the get-go, county staff has been pushing the envelope with the plans. Project managers have complained of the proposed timeline being “aggressive and unrealistic” and putting “so much pressure on staff.”