Palihouse Santa Monica Neighborhood Battle Heats Up

One woman's effort to oppose changes at Palihouse Santa Monica were met with a cease and desist letter this month.

Laura Wilson, an attorney who lives across from Palihouse Santa Monica, has made it her full-time job to tell neighbors about the changes, especially through YouTube videos, photos and emails. 

Wilson received the letter Thursday from an attorney representing the ownership of Palihouse Santa Monica, asking her to stop "the harassment of hotel employees and guests" and calling her behavior "erratic."

While Wilson acknowledges that she has interacted with the hotel employees and guests, she said her actions have not been erratic, but those of a passionate advocate for her neighborhood.

"I wear it like a badge of honor," Wilson said. "It’s tells me I am doing everything I should be doing. It tells me they realize that I’m right. I’m going to keep advocating for my neighborhood within legal means. I’m not harassing anybody. I’m not sneaking onto their property."

Her complaints range from noise to parking issues from valet. 

A hearing on a conditional use permit will likely be heard by the Santa Monica Planning Commission late this year. At that meeting, neighbors will have a chance to speak out about the hotel. 

Calls to Palihouse Santa Monica, which opened June 1, were not returned. Designated an historic landmark by the city in 2003, the Spanish Colonial Revival-style Embassy was built in the mid-1920s. It remains a hybrid hotel designed for extended stays with condominiums.