Planners Take Up Disputed Miramar Redo Tonight

Two weeks after scores of Santa Monica residents packed City Hall to oppose a major overhaul of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, the Planning Commission will decide whether it supports the project.

Its meeting will start at 7 p.m. today, Wednesday, in Council Chambers in City Hall, at 1685 Main Street.

• Related: It's So Not Santa Monica, Miramar Opponents Say

Plans to overhaul the 4.5-acre site include the construction of up 120 condominiums, new retail outlets and restaurants, three times as many parking spaces, a one-acre public garden and plaza at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue and up to 40 low-income-housing units on hotel-owned property on Second Street.

Many locals have said the project would be way too big for Santa Monica. Merchants, the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. said it would generate much needed revenue for the city.

Specifically, on Wednesday night, the Planning Commission is scheduled to consider whether it recommends the city sign an agreement with the developers that would allow it to build beyond the limits of existing zoning codes, if it concedes to a number of community benefits.

As proposed, the benefits include:

• Preserving the historic Moreton Bay fig tree;
• Preserving and rehabilitating the Palisades Building;
• Creating almost one acre of green space at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, including a public plaza;
• Replacing two unsightly parking lots along Wilshire Boulevard with new retail that would rejuvenate the street and connect to the Third Street Promenade and Palisades Park;
• Providing affordable housing;
• Constructing all buildings meet or exceed the LEED Silver requirement;
• Installing covered and secure bicycle parking for employees and residents, shower and locker facilities for employees, and additional bicycle parking for visitors and guests;
• Paying an undetermined transit/mobility fee;
• Building underground parking for all hotel guests, residents, and employees on site, freeing up 100 to 150 local on-street parking spaces.

The City Council will have the final say on the development agreement.