We Welcome the Miramar’s Proposal

My family and I have been next-door neighbors to the Miramar hotel for more than 30 years, sharing a common property line with the hotel. The Miramar is a beautiful, well-run facility, a considerate neighbor, and a genuine asset for our community. We enthusiastically favor their plans to add employee housing, apartments, and shops to the Miramar.

It’s easy to forget that the Miramar property was vacant and in a state of disrepair for years in the early 2000s. Two other owners couldn’t get permits in a timely manner, and finally the property was sold to Rick Caruso in 2007. After a full 10 years of going through the local permitting process, construction finally began. Now, we are all reaping the benefits of this first-class hotel (and a first-class team managing it)!

Since the Miramar re-opened in 2019, we have never had a problem or concern that was not immediately resolved. The Caruso and Miramar teams have been incredibly professional and have kept every promise they have made to us. That includes their promises about their current proposal. Early last year, their team told us they wanted input from the neighborhood as to what would be acceptable — and judging from their actions, they meant it. Since then, they have held myriad group meetings, one-on-one conversations, and other gatherings to assess the needs of the local community. That includes sending mailers, speaking at Montecito Association meetings, and holding meetings in residents’ living rooms to share more about the plans.

Throughout this process, we have found their team to be very informative, accessible, and open-minded. They have listened to all of our feedback and comments about how these plans can be adjusted to better fit our community character, and it’s clear they took our feedback to heart. They removed the third story from the west parking lot buildings and removed a planned driveway from Eucalyptus Lane. They also agreed to reduce the space for shops from their original plan and oriented the shop entrances inward toward the hotel, similar to how resort shops are on the property today.

An important feature of this plan consists of the 16 additional affordable apartments for Miramar employees. We know how expensive it is to live in Montecito and the surrounding area, and providing these apartments for their team is the right thing to do.

It is disappointing to see inaccurate information being spread about this proposal, which we assume is being shared by people who have not seen the plans. With all due respect, this is much ado about very little. This will not encroach into our neighborhood and will look nothing like a “mini mall.” We trust it will be as beautiful as the current Miramar property and will be surrounded by trees and landscaping, as the Miramar is today. The same design and aesthetic nature of the Miramar today will continue in the future. They are also adding additional parking and making no change to beach access. Based on the Miramar’s history, I am quite comfortable that any issues that may arise will be resolved immediately, just as they are today.

The Miramar is a class act through and through. It is fitting that the Forbes Travel Guide recognized the Miramar as one of 15 hotels worldwide with a Triple Five-Star rating for Hotel, Spa, and Restaurant! We fully support this plan and want to thank the Caruso team for all they are doing to be great neighbors in Montecito.