Politics & Government
At Miramar Hotel EIR Meeting, Frustrations Boil Over
Plans for a renovated Fairmont Miramar Hotel call for a 21-story building that would top 262 feet.
A scoping meeting on a draft environmental impact report for the overhaul of Santa Monica's historic Fairmont Miramar Hotel left some community members frustrated Thursday, and others asking for more civility.
Instead of holding a traditional public hearing with speakers, Santa Monica city staff opted to set up stations where attendees could offer comments and ask questions about the project's aesthetics, construction effects, geology, land use and neighborhood effects, among other topics.
"They're trying to control it by having us talk to staff privately," Kay Ward said at the meeting, which filled up the multi-purpose room of the Santa Monica Library. "Divide and conquer."
But Roxanne Tanemori, Santa Monica's senior planner, said the intent was to provide as much information and gather as much input as possible at the meeting. She said she accepted the criticism, and was heartened to see that some stuck around to provide comments and ask questions.
"This is just the beginning of a long process," Tanemori said, adding that all the comments will be posted on the city's website after the June 3 deadline for input on the EIR has passed.
Project details
The environmental impact report (EIR) will study the potential impacts of plans for a 262-foot tall tower with new hotel rooms, condos and ground-floor retail.
The Ocean Building, which would replace an existing 10-story hotel tower, is one of three new buildings that would be erected under the latest plan. The others are:
- The Wilshire Building: Four stories at Second Street and Wilshire with a ballroom on the ground floor, meeting rooms on the second floor the main hotel pool on the third floor and a restaurant on the top.
- The California Building: Six stories on California Avenue and Ocean Avenue with hotel rooms and suites.
'We are isolated'
As the meeting shifted to the stations, Julia Mangir walked up to the front of the room, grabbed a microphone and demanded a traditional meeting. Many cheered in support, echoing her request.
"We have been through this many times where we are isolated, where we cannot make our public comments, public," Mangir said.
While her demand was denied by city staff, some at the meeting praised her.
"I applaud the woman who stood up and said we should have public comment," Ellen Brennan said.
Jim Pickrell said most of his neighborhood opposes the project.
"I feel like I've been handled here," Pickrell said. "I feel like I've been managed."
More civility
Others asked for more civility in conversations about projects.
"I was disappointed by the people that tried to hijack the meeting," Valerie Griffin said. Griffin said she would like to the EIR to study scenarios with all, some and none of the condos.
Jerry Rubin said he felt the rancor in the room "hurt the scoping process."
Planning Director David Martin said the meeting was meant to gather input on what should be studied in the EIR.
"This is not about whether the project should be approved or not," Martin said. "This is about what should be studied in the environmental impact report. Once that's done, we'll go to the planning commission and the city council."
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
