Plug Pulled on Montecito Planning Commission Hearing on Miramar Expansion

Commissioner Recuses Herself After Caruso Team Questions Whether Commission Has ‘Pre-Judged Our Project’

By Christina McDermott Fri Oct 18, 2024 | 04:30pm

This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.

The Montecito Planning Commission’s special hearing on the Miramar expansion project ended abruptly today when Commissioner Sandy Stahl recused herself after the lunch recess.

The meeting had started with four commissioners present and one online, but Chair Marshall Miller soon recused himself due to a possible conflict of interest. After Stahl could no longer participate, the commissioners and the planning department said a quorum no longer existed — the remote commissioner could not make a quorum, county supervising planner Joseph Dargel later explained — and the meeting ended at that point.

Just before the commission paused the hearing for lunch, Chris Robertson, Miramar owner Rick Caruso’s senior vice president of planning and development, said that the Caruso team has recently acquired information that made them question whether they would get a fair hearing from the commission.

She said that earlier in the week, the team’s county planner received an 18-page letter from Commissioner Stahl and that the document history indicated it was authored by a known opponent of the project. Robertson asked how Stahl came to have the document. She further asked that if this letter wasn’t authored by the opponent, who was it authored by and why was that information not disclosed?

“In my 20 years of working in land use, I’ve never seen something like this at this length. It calls into serious question whether or not this commission has pre-judged our project,” Robertson added.

Montecito Planning Commissioner Sandy Stahl recused herself after the lunch recess, breaking the commission’s quorum and ending Friday’s meeting. | Credit: Courtesy

When she recused herself, Stahl said she was initially unclear on the expectations for disclosing ex-parte communications.

The hearing ended without any more communication or explanation from supporters, opponents, or the Caruso team.

Four of the five Montecito commissioners had threatened to resign last month after the project — which would add affordable employee housing as well as luxury boutiques and apartments — nearly bypassed the Montecito commission to instead be heard by the County Planning Commission at the request of Miramar owner Rick Caruso. Shortly after, the county agreed that the Montecito commission could hear the project and provide recommendations.

The county’s planning department said that because the Montecito Planning Commission did not form a quorum, it will not offer a recommendation to the County Planning Commission, which will go ahead with its meeting on November 1.