••• The Montecito Planning Commission fought for an opportunity to weigh in on developer Rick Caruso’s plan to add 17,500 square feet of retail and 34 apartments at the Rosewood Miramar Beach—and then blew it. From Noozhawk:
After nearly four hours of a hearing, [Caruso attorney Chris] Robertson told the audience at the planning commission room that [commissioner Sandy] Stahl had meetings with neighbors, called ex-parte, that she didn’t disclose at the beginning of the meeting. […] The attorney said that earlier in the week, a Caruso planner received an 18-page, 6,000-word document from Stahl, with various questions on the project. Caruso’s team looked at the track history tool in the Microsoft Word document, which showed that the document was seemingly authored by an opponent of the project.
Caruso’s team made great hay of the matter, and Stahl’s recusal meant there was no longer a quorum, so the meeting was abandoned.
The project is headed to the county planning commission for approval on November 1. If approved, it will go before the Board of Supervisors by the end of the calendar year, where it is likely to get approved. First District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams, who leaves his position in January, is a supporter of the project. Roy Lee, the supervisor-elected, has expressed concerns about the project.
••• In a different meeting, the Montecito Planning Commission approved the Biltmore’s new pool complex “with the agreement that The Biltmore would reduce […] the surface area of the water for the family pool complex by 5% after commissioners expressed concern that it was a bit big and too close to the road. […] The Biltmore will have to go back to the Montecito Board of Architecture Review for final approval before getting permits for construction.” —Noozhawk
••• “Santa Barbara County’s first health and safety vending machine opened on the patio of the Isla Vista Community Center.” It’s stocked with life-sustaining and preventative health items like Narcan, fentanyl test strips, HIV rapid tests and emergency contraceptives.” —KSBY
••• “Goleta Looks to Preserve Large Agricultural Parcels with Measure G2024 […] Renewing the Measure Would Protect Farms Larger than 10 Acres for Another 20 Years.” —Independent
••• If you thought Bellosguardo was the only property all but ignored by Huguette Clark, behold her former 52-acre estate in New Canaan, Connecticut—”which she bought in 1951 as a potential refuge from a nuclear attack during the Cold War but, curiously enough, never spent a single night in.” It’s on the market for $25.5 million. —Robb Report
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The MPC and MBAR have an emarrassing history of being the biggest incestuous NIMBY’s that trip over their own feet on delusions of grandeur power, when luckly they have no real say. I think of them every time I am stuck in Montecito side street traffic from travelers using driving apps to skirt the 101 mess that they delayed from fighting the widening for years.
Been following this closely and very much agree! It seemed from the reporting that they didn’t even really have to go through the MPC, that the MPC threw a fit when they realized Caruso intended to skip the MPC and go directly to the county – as was his right due to the nature of the project being proposed. They demanded to be a part of it and then made complete asses of themselves. Classic.
Very sad the the MPC blew it on this one. This is a huge project and will affect the community forever. The once beloved Miramar and its site now looks like Disneyland and Caruso is clearly not going to stop, adding a luxury mall to this quaint neighborhood. 😪