Santa Barbara–based nonprofit Keep the Funk is not giving up the fight against the proposed 250-room Garden Street Hotel, with the group filing a lawsuit in Santa Barbara County Superior Court challenging the city’s approval of the project, in addition to an appeal with the California Coastal Commission.
The proposed development of six parcels near Garden and Yanonali streets was originally part of a city-approved plan dating back to 1983, when the city made a deal with the late landowner Bill Wright, who agreed to donate a strip of land in exchange for the right to build a hotel at some point in the future. Wright’s family brought the proposal back to the city nearly 40 years later with the help of Newport Beach–based consultant Dauntless Development, and after several contentious hearings the hotel earned the approval of Santa Barbara’s Planning Commission in March 2024, then survived a subsequent appeal at the City Council in November.
Brittany Zajic, president of Keep the Funk, Inc., has been leading the opposition against the proposed hotel throughout the review process. She said the organization was founded to “maintain the vital character of the Funk Zone,” and while they are not against all new hotels, she feels that the scale of the development — which would be the second-largest hotel in the city — would have too big of an impact on an area that has grown organically over the years.
“We participated in the public hearings, and tried to interact with the developers of the project multiple times to see if they would adjust the size, bulk, or scale of the project, or address the other issues of concern to neighbors and existing businesses,” Zajic said. “The Orange County developers ignored these community concerns, and in the end we had no choice but to bring these actions.”
Keep the Funk’s attorney Marc Chytilo filed the lawsuit in Santa Barbara courts on January 17, challenging the city’s approval of the project, which included plans for a 238-space underground parking garage in an area Chytilo says has “known contaminated soil and groundwater.”
“Disturbance of this groundwater during construction is likely to cause health and safety hazards to existing residents and businesses in the Funk Zone from chemicals known to exist on and under the site,” said Chytilo, who specializes in environmental cases.
The legal challenges argue that the city relied too much on its 14-year-old environmental impact report, ignoring the potential for unknown impacts and allowing an exemption from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review. Only two members of the City Council, Chytilo said — Kristen Sneddon and Oscar Gutierrez — were “brave enough to demand a full environmental review.”
“Building an underground garage in an area exposed to flooding from both sea-level rise and nearby creeks is extraordinarily risky and will cause significant irreversible environmental impacts, yet the project was exempted from environmental review,” Chytilo said.
The lawsuit contends that the city overlooked additional environmental problems, including contamination of the beach and Mission Lagoon, the added strain on the city’s housing market, gentrification of the Funk Zone, parking impacts, and traffic hazards.
While a court date has not yet been set for the lawsuit, the California Coastal Commission appeal — which was filed on December 17, 2024 — is expected to be considered in a two-step process over the next few months.
The Coastal Commission will first determine whether or not it finds a “substantial issue” with the project. Secondly, the commission would hold a public hearing on the merits of the appeal to decide whether or not the Coastal Commission will take jurisdiction. This determination could decide whether or not the civil suit would go forward.
Keep the Funk’s appeal to the Coastal Commission alleges multiple violations of the California Coastal Act and the city’s Local Coastal Plan, including compatibility with other developments in the area, impacts to biological resources, and preservation of coastal recreational resources.
It is unclear whether Meagan Harmon — who is both a member of the Santa Barbara City Council and the California Coastal Commission — will be able to take part in the upcoming appeal process. During the previous City Council appeal, Harmon said she was “conflicted,” and that she felt for the community members’ concerns, though she ultimately voted to deny the appeal because she said it was crucial for the city to keep its word with development agreements.
Representatives from Dauntless Development did not respond to requests for comment. All previous project approvals — including a coastal development permit — will be suspended pending the Coastal Commission appeal.
Filmmaker Gareth Kelly directed a documentary detailing Keep the Funk’s attempts to stop the hotel, which will host its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this week. The film will be showing at the SBIFF Film Center on Thursday, February 6 at 3 p.m and on Friday, February 7 at 8:40 pm. Watch the trailer here.
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