Shootout at Miramar Corral

So is Carbajal talking out of both sides of his mouth? On the one hand "following whistleblower procedure"--whatever that is---regarding the ethical planner who was unceremoniously booted from the County---yet on the other hand helping to "move the process along". Please. he can't have it both ways. This whole thing stinks.

Any successful developer knows the value of a rock-solid environmental analysis, especially when you expect it to be challenged, as Ms. Petrovich states. Why Mr. Caruso would choose to go through a lengthy legal battle rather than deal with the issues up front is mind-boggling to me.

Given the changed (since Schrager) impacts this larger development is liable to have on views and water usage, including ground water usage, alone and especially given that California is now in an official drought situation, this project should have a thorough environmental analysis on all the changed aspects in the plan.

If the plans for development are the same as those already approved, then no EIR; if changed, then EIR.

I hope Supervisor re-elect Carbajal is listening to ALL his district. That usually pro-developer Petrovich and CPA are on the same side on this is mind-boggling.

Btw, on what basis the Montecito Water District figuring water usage? There's been essentially no usage for the last 10 years.

A now deceased friend of mine worked many years for the City of Santa Maria Community Development Department in a position not unlike that of Michelle Gibbs. He was often at loggerheads with the department's directors and accused of not being a "team player." One project that I recall in particular was a housing subdivision to be built on an abandoned oil field. My friend's position on the matter was ignored, more correctly subverted. Today there is a law suit taking place because oil is seeping up into the people's back yards. There is talk of demolishing the homes. My inclination would be to trust Gibbs' judgment. Where there is smoke there is fire.

I had always thought that this property would have been a location for Montecito's great affordable housing project, complete with Community Center and public pool. It could have made Tye Warner out to be such a hero in pulling together local politicos and citizens alike. The existing divided class mentality could start to bridge the gap with workforce housing right in the heart of Montecito.

Then, waking from my dream, I realized Ian Schrager really said that he wanted to recreate his summer camp in the Catskills at Miramar. More realistic, would be to abandon the beachfront units, giving breathing room to the long shore sand current that has been under so much pressure from the local seawalls to the west. Instead of bigger, go smaller, enhance the setbacks. Still dreaming? Must be.

Club 54's gone. Beenieman's gone. Now, it's Mayor elect wannabe mall guy, no EIR guy, courting the environmental Sup with pulling out. Is this safe sex, or risky behavior? It kind of feels like the President that keeps replacing the General in charge until they have the desired rhetoric mouthpiece.

I like the instincts of Michelle Gibbs. Rick Caruso might just be better off in L.A., running for Mayor. Save what little is left. L.A. is 100 miles to the east.

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o156/...

Is there any enviroment left down there to Review? A bunch or weeds growing in the ruins? I think it should be used as a movie set for a Logan's Run remake. And if thier is an enviroment who gets to enjoy it? I love the oozzzing oil story. That is so Jed Clampett! Just what we all need is another Hearst Castle. There is one in Goleta now, so , lets keep putting them in. They will be like Mini Malls soon. Then maybe get one in the La Entrada area, and we will have them every few miles along the coast. That way they will be like rest stops for the elite. No but seriously, seems like people with ethics, end up being disposed of as whistle blowers. "You are impeeding progress!". Darn that Michelle Gibbs for trying to do her job right.

Be sure to read Matt Middlebrook's letter to the editor in today's Noozhawk. It presents another side of the story (verifiable) that neither the NewsPress nor the Independent has printed.

I'm sure Michelle Gibbs is an honest, high-integrity individual, which does not mean that her analysis is correct. Management's role, even in government, is to oversee employees and presumably be more knowledgeable in their department's business. She is certainly within her rights to protest and resign (or be terminated, depends on who's doing the telling) as is any employee in any organization whose recommendations are overridden by their boss. Happens all the time.
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BTW the ongoing reference to nearly half of 99 letters in the various media objecting or calling for more review (are they all quoting each other or did they all actually read the letters?) is highly questionable. Many of the so-called objections are not that at all. E.g. the Chumash only asked for on-site observation during excavation, and Heal the Ocean's Board did not approve Houser's action (several directors resigned after "HTO"'s original EIR demand was made public) so that objection is by an individual not a "highly credible organization" as has been previously alleged.

RCMeltzer:

Isn't Middlebrook associated with Caruso's organization?

The spin patrol for this Caruso project should tread lightly or not at all as they spin their political, for-profit rhetoric by even hinting at the character and professional ethics of Michelle Gibbs.

I have worked with her on projects and business transactions and her professional and ethical standards are impeccable and beyond reproach.

County Planners Gibbs and Harris are the messengers here. The story is who gagged them, and why, and what the message actually is.

binky:
Yes. So?

I'd like to know what Rick Caruso's spokesman Middlebrook said that is "another side of the story (verifiable) that neither the NewsPress nor the Independent has printed."

Another question, directed at John Locke, that would be nice to have answered is why Heal the Ocean's request, as clarified by Hauser in the Update above, would be rendered an individual's opinion: can't the Executive Director speak for her organization?

David_Pritchett: Let me understand you. Recognizing Gibbs' honesty and integrity, while questioning her conclusions is something the "Caruso project" should not do? Say what? BTW I'm not part of the "Caruso project', just pointing out that honesty and integrity do not imply that one's position is correct nor that it cannot be overridden by one's management.

binky: Regarding HTO, my understanding, from 2 Board members, is that this matter is outside HTO's chartered activity and that the Board would not approve taking the position that Hauser originally publicly announced. Hence, no, the Executive Director does not speak for the organization in this case. Three Directors resigned. The "clarification" came after the resignations. That should tell you something.

I read the Middlebrook letter in the Noozhawk. One would think that after the time he has spent here he would have learned that the Editorial page Editor of the NP is often short on facts but always ready to express a negative mean-spirited opinion. What I find news is the coalition that has "suddenly" sprung up that includes Heal the Ocean, the CA Coastal Commission, Susan Petrovich, Julia Louis Dreyfus and her husband. If they choose to utilize their financial resources on legal process Caruso is in for a long, frustrating and ugly experience. We are talking Seinfeld money here. If his instincts are to ramrod ahead he is in for a nightmare, or maybe as he has threatened, he will just quit. I have been looking forward for years now to drinks and oysters on the beach at the bar but it looks like it is going to be a while longer.

When will our community start letting the people who have the desire to make it a better place and should by right be able to develop their property as they wish. This is such a derelict property. It's time for this community to grow up. Let Mr. Caruso build a place for everyone.

When will the County start insisting that the developer follow the rules that everyone else must follow--rules that were written and enacted into law for just this sort of development. This will be the largest development in Montecito for decades to come: wouldn't you think that it would receive the greatest scrutiny by the community and our government? Why would all the rules be dismissed on this HUGE project when they seem to be applied with a stick to every damned 10-foot balcony and padded toilet seat that needs a permit?

This community is parroting bytes crafted and slipped into the ether by the developer's PR agency. When did we start believing that this developer is, as one woman called him (in public...she said it in public. I cringe for her), our Prince Charming? Worse! The whole town is acting like a woman who marries an ugly man because she's been told that no one will ever ask her again...

This mega hotel and retail complex will be with us a lot longer than that marriage. Probably longer than the marriages of our children and grandchildren and...

How many of the people who've been filling blogs with their deepest thoughts about the now-famous 99 letters in the County file have read any of those letters?

If you take the time to do so, note that the roughly half that support the project are generic (read: vapid) repetitions of pep-fest songs by adoring fans--not logical comments by people who have done their homework.

And to all of you who insist that a "new EIR" isn't necessary: a new EIR can't be done because an EIR has never been done on the Miramar Hotel property.

Advice (that you didn't ask for): read everything about the Caruso plan on Blogabarbara, on this Indy site, and in the News-Press. Spend an hour at the County flipping through a few of the 99 letters (if you can get an appointment to get in). Then, in the privacy of your own house, sit quietly and ask yourself if you've been as discerning as you'd like to be. It's okay: no one need ever know that you're thinking out of the social box.

Ask yourself if it makes sense that a planner blew the whistle on the project because she couldn't bring herself to sign the document that had been taken out of her control and which said things she thought weren't true. Sure, some blogger tried to twist that one, but it really can't be twisted. I read that she's now working for the same company she worked at for 9 years before moving to the County job. Hard to fool an employer for 9 years. Hiring her back is the quintessential letter of recommendation.

Insist that the County follow the established procedure for reviewing the details of this massive project.

That's it: just ask that the laws be obeyed. Everything else will follow.