Letter Referenced in MJ Article

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Get Involved!

1. Inform yourself of the facts. Read some of the blog posts here (scroll down), as well as the media's coverage of the project (we have an exhausting amount of links in the right-hand column). 

2. Write letters to both the Montecito Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. You can get their emails by clicking here or the link on the right-hand column.

3. Sign the petition. Email it to your friends and neighbors. 

4. Attend the hearing on Thursday, August 28th at 9AM at the County Engineering Building (123 E. Anapamu), in the Planning Commission Hearing Room. The hearing will probably last all day, but your presence for any amount of time that you have is beneficial to the cause. We are planning on wearing "Miramar Blue" to the meeting. 

5. Sign up for our email list to stay informed. 

Size, Bulk, and Scale

     Montecito residents take pride in the rural charm of their establishments, the area's natural beauty, and the prominent ocean views that are present throughout the neighborhood. Caruso's current plan for the Miramar Hotel will not only block these views of the ocean and islands, but will clearly not be consistent with the existing topography of the land. The plan to reconfigure the entire building site will require large amounts of cutting and filling (1,000 dump-trucks or 10,000 cubic yards of fill) to afford an ocean view to all of the hotel rooms. This has the potential for many unanticipated impacts, including effects on the water table, flooding, and the reflection of freeway noise levels into the historic hedgerow neighborhood. 

     Caruso's plans with respect to maintaining Montecito's cottage-type hotel requirements are stretched so far beyond recognition that it is no longer comparable to Ian Schrager's plan for the hotel. The Caruso plan is not the Schrager plan to revitalize the old cottages. Along with not adhering to the visual aesthetics of the community, the hotel, with its "Caribbean" style, greatly exceeds height limits (49') set by the Montecito Community Plan. Moreover, the scale of the project can be likened to the size of three Goleta Home Depots (Click on the bel

ow image for scale). 

Freeway and Traffic Problems

     Our Community has dialogued for decades with the issue of traffic congestion associated with Montecito's stretch of the 101 due to the general population gains we have experienced. This segment of the freeway was designed some sixty years ago, long before we were forced to consider the impact of a mega-hotel retail complex proposed by the Caruso Group.

     The narrow, two-lane overpass at San Ysidro Road cannot presently handle peak traffic coming from the Southbound off-ramp. There are often multi-car lineups at this crucial juncture into Montecito. Also, the stub-like on-ramp that feeds onto the Southbound 101 freeway is a consistent problem as it is too small to safely merge into traffic. The backup would make South Jameson Road a consistent traffic nightmare. Caruso's plan replaces the public beach parking on Miramar Avenue with South-facing, diagonal parking spaces on South Jameson. This leaves drivers in a dangerous situation while both backing out into a busy street and then having to turn around in the neighborhood. Caruso's plan has not taken into consideration drivers that are not going to his hotel and their need to safely turn around as there is no South-bound outlet besides the 101 on-ramp.

    This is a situation that is untenable and cannot exist in harmony with a community that has worked for over a century to maintain its bucolic, semi-rural atmosphere. 

Meeting this Sunday August 17 at 4PM

Please join us this Sunday to discuss our progress and plans for our growing group of "actionists". We are having an affect on the Caruso Miramar Plan's attempt to fast-track his out-of-compliance hotel/retail destination, but we need your support to get what the community really needs: a full EIR and compliance with the Montecito Community Plan. 

Location: 115 Miramar Avenue (Between N. Jameson and San Leandro), right across the freeway from the Miramar Hotel. 

See you there!

Great Article in the News-Press Today