Caruso Moves Ahead with Miramar Housing and Retail Project

[Updated: Thursday, May 23, 11:23 a.m.]

Rosewood Miramar Resort owner Rick Caruso pulled the trigger this week on the planned expansion of his triple five-star hotel, filing a formal application with the county planning department to construct 26 units of affordable employee housing, eight luxury apartments, and a collection of boutique shops on the property’s existing parking lots.

The news comes just days after the Montecito Association heard another round of fiery opposition from a group of Miramar neighbors, along with equally passionate support from other fellow residents.

Those against the project worry it will commercialize their small residential neighborhood and make traffic congestion, already a problem, even worse. They miss the old Miramar, which was accessible to the middle class, and criticize the new version for catering to the ultra-wealthy.

Those in favor of the proposal say Caruso and the Miramar have proven themselves to be kind and considerate neighbors who brought the long-abandoned property back from a “rat-infested wasteland,” and who should be applauded for now building much-needed workforce housing when few other employers are willing to do so.

Among those who expressed their concerns this week was Reverend Channing Smith, rector for the All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church adjacent to the hotel. Smith told the Montecito Association the two-story structures planned for the western parking lot would all but obliterate the church’s view corridors, especially from within its new memorial chapel that looks toward the Santa Ynez Mountains. The chapel was funded by the late philanthropist Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree, who is also interred there.

The 124-year-old church, Montecito’s first Episcopalian parish, is the “defining historic feature” of the neighborhood, Smith said. When Caruso started rebuilding the Miramar in 2016, the billionaire Los Angeles developer agreed to relocate a section of rooms to save the church’s views. Smith said he hoped Caruso would compromise again.

The rector also had a hard time believing the Miramar’s assurances that parking would not become a bigger issue for the area, he said, noting the church has accommodated overflow parking from the hotel a handful of times in recent years. The hotel has stated the undergrounding of its western lot will actually add 55 spaces to its overall number.

Cliff Gherson, a retired teacher and the unofficial leader of the opposition, described the 17,000-square-foot retail and café expansion as a new “luxury shopping mall” that would disrupt the tranquility of their neighborhood. “Are we going to ignore our well-thought-out and carefully developed Community Plan?” he asked the board. “Or will Montecito sell its soul to an outside developer, in exchange for a convenient cup of coffee, or a stylish scarf?”

Gherson also cited the eight years of construction the neighborhood has endured, which continues with the ongoing highway widening nearby. “The experience of these unceasing activities is a huge stressor for all of us,” he said. “Through this, we’ve learned that Montecito roads are not designed for high volumes of traffic. We are a village, not a city.”

The neighbors who spoke in favor of the project frequently cited the 26 units of affordable employee housing planned for the Miramar’s eastern lot, which the hotel said would target its housekeepers, cooks, and other line staff. Richard Rockenbach said Caruso was “putting his money where his mouth is” to support his workers and thanked him for doing so without using any public financing.

Santa Barbara County is required by state law to build more housing, Rockenbach continued, and the Miramar had been identified as a suitable location in Montecito for new units. So was Manning Park up the street. Building at the hotel would remove the park from consideration, he said, and save the community even more potential heartache.

Other supportive neighbors pointed out that the Miramar is the largest contributor of bed taxes to the county and is Montecito’s biggest private employer. One resident called it a “gem” for the neighborhood that her children are always excited to visit, and she said she had faith Caruso would maintain his same high standards for the expansion, both visually and operationally. An open letter of support circulating among neighbors has collected 115 signatures.

Padric Davis, a retired 33-year director of the All Saints-by-the-Sea Parish School, is among members of the church who back the proposal. She was impressed with the “professional and competent way” Caruso and his team accommodated the preschool during the hotel’s initial construction by limiting work hours, offering plastic hard hats and toy trucks to the children, and inviting them over on Christmas to take pictures with Santa. “With that experience, I know that Caruso Affiliated will be a good neighbor as they proceed with this workforce housing project,” said Davis.

Davis and others also said they appreciated Caruso’s team shrinking the overall size of the project, including eliminating a third floor and reducing the retail footprint, after soliciting feedback from residents and the Montecito Board of Architectural Review. “After listening carefully to the community, we designed this plan to a neighborhood scale, protecting the community character while meeting these important housing goals at no cost to the public,” said Caruso Executive Vice President Bryce Ross.

The Miramar has initiated a traffic study with a third-party contractor that will be completed in the coming months, Ross said. The project application with its detailed site plan will be available for public viewing next week.