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).
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