Miramar’s Affordable Housing Should Be Next to All Saints Church

I have heard rumors that those who oppose the Miramar expansion are being labelled “anti-affordable housing.” I want to state very clearly that All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, the next door neighbor to the Miramar, is adamantly for affordable housing. That’s not to say we don’t have significant concerns about the project, however. But our charitable outreach programs have aided Californians in need of housing for decades. In fact, our hope was to have the Caruso Organization locate its proposed 26 affordable apartments immediately adjacent to All Saints in two buildings. The thought of this ignited a lot of energy around welcoming those families into our community. In our minds, it makes complete sense to put the affordable housing in the location of a warm and welcoming neighborhood.

What we do oppose is building a large structure with prestige shops and luxury apartments on the small lot north of our Church Sanctuary, with 30 foot walls hemming in our church entrance and sacred spaces. This would largely eclipse the mountain views that have nurtured us for 124 years.

When I was called to be just the 9^th Rector of All Saints in January, I soon learned that the Miramar expansion had already been described in concept to our church leadership. When some months later the actual plans for the expansion were filed with the county, the enormity of what was proposed became apparent. And we were horrified.

We immediately engaged noted local architect Bob Easton to help develop various alternatives that we could discuss with the Caruso team.

An exciting alternative evolved which has become known as the “swap.” It entails putting the affordable housing in two buildings next to All Saints at the corner of South Jameson and Eucalyptus Lane, one two-story building and one one-story building. The luxury shops and apartments would be constructed on the larger plot east of The Manor House, where they would be easily accessible from the Resort’s main restaurants, pools, and Great Lawn. This approach would maintain exactly the same rentable square feet as the original Caruso proposal and reduce construction costs by eliminating underground parking north of the Sanctuary and allowing for under-building parking east of The Manor House.

We were disappointed that the Caruso team rejected the “swap” and continue to feel it’s a win-win for him and the community.

For All Saints, preserving the sacred is our priority. In our view, the sacred is the beauty of this area which is seen each time we enter the church, and opportunity to grow our neighborhood by placing the affordable housing right next to the church. For us the consequences are longstanding. We have served the Montecito community for nearly 125 years, and we plan to be here for the next 125 years. It is about how we understand ourselves within the community for which we care.

Too often, the sacred in life is overlooked, and yet it is this, the sacred, which makes life a gift. I hope those in positions of authority will find ways to preserve what is sacred and encourage a compromise that works for everyone, building neighborhoods with affordable housing rather than taking away the neighborhood’s unique character.