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Cason Point: Developer of The Lakes gets in deep water in Montecito
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STORY TOOLS 
More from Colleen CasonGetting hosed by angry readers is part of being a columnist.
Still, I was gobsmacked by the reaction to my 2005 column goofing on the name of a Thousand Oaks shopping center.
While my piece on The Lakes at Thousand Oaks mostly praised mall meister Rick Caruso's then-new center, I did point out that calling bodies of water 17 inches deep "lakes" was a bit hyperbolic. I suggested renaming the center The Puddles, The Ponds or even, yes, The Fakes.
One offended reader urged me to be grateful that Caruso, who has built hugely popular centers throughout Southern California, deigned to develop the restaurant-retail complex adjacent to Thousand Oaks City Hall.
The Thousand Oaks Boulevard site had been "blighted" and Mr. Caruso, she told me, does not have to locate in blighted areas.
Blight is not a word normally associated with the oak-blessed Conejo Valley, with demographics that have made it Nordstrom worthy.
No, madam, to see real blight you have to dash up the coast to Montecito. Yup, Montecito with the median home price hovering around $3 million. The very Montecito that occupies a perennial spot on the list of the richest ZIP codes in America. The same Montecito where Oprah keeps a $51 million second home.
There you will find first-class blight. The old Miramar Hotel sits moldering behind an intermittent chain-link fence. Rotting mattresses are piled on the porches of vacant rooms. Graffiti has been sprayed, covered and resprayed on the decaying wooden cottages. Debris piled everywhere suggests the site has attracted careless transients to this otherwise lovely residential neighborhood.
So you would think Montecito's civic leaders would want this shambles by the sea to become the jewel of the California Coast.
You might. And this is where I start feeling a little sorry for Rick Caruso.
You see, he currently owns this blight. Caruso reportedly paid $50 million for the parcel in January 2007 with plans to turn it into a resort reminiscent of the blue-roofed Miramar in its blue-blooded glory days.
Water features are a trademark of Caruso developments, and this time, he landed himself the ultimate water feature, the Pacific Ocean.
A rock star of service-oriented developments, Caruso hoped to succeed where Studio 54 hotelier Ian Schrager and Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner had tanked before him.
But earlier this month, the Montecito Planning Commission gave Caruso's five-star resort a five-star retort.
Saying he wanted to see something "smaller," commissioner Michael Phillips declared the project more "Monticello than Montecito."
You gotta feel for Caruso knowing this is the same body that approved Rob Lowe's 14,260-square-foot Montecito dream home over the objections of some neighbors.
At 11,000 square feet, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello is actually smaller than Lowe's megamanse.
And you got to feel Caruso's pain when you consider his proposal is a brilliant business concept. With the high cost of fuel, more Californians are traveling less, and spots like a restored Miramar would draw stay-cationers.
And you might have a pang of sympathy when you realize the resort potentially could add to the Santa Barbara County coffers an estimated $4 million annually between property, bed and sales taxes. This year, that county was forced to approve a budget with cuts to programs that serve its most vulnerable citizens.
Not only that, but even after the panel was assured by the local water district chief that there was enough water available for the project, it decided that Caruso would have to fund an expensive study of water issues.
Finally, there came the unkindest cut of all. After Caruso asked the Montecito planners to outright deny his application so he could move on, they refused him that. Now, that is harsh.
Caruso, who said his project follows a plan already approved by Santa Barbara County, has balked at the delay and the word is he is trying to sell the property.
I contacted a spokesman for Caruso Affiliated requesting an interview. While the spokesman first agreed to the interview, no one called me by deadline.
There are no perfect projects, and not surprisingly some neighbors have serious concerns with this one. Danielle Welch, whose family has owned a home adjacent to the site for all her 48 years, told me she and her neighbors fear Caruso's plan may cause drainage problems during El Nino events that could damage their homes.
Down the road, another neighbor, who asked that her name not be used, welcomes the project. If the opponents had to look at the shambles she sees from her front yard, they would have a better appreciation for Caruso's vision, she said.
What a difference a county line makes. Thousand Oaks city officials pretty much carried Caruso's water by leasing him the land under The Lakes for a buck a year. Montecito planners seem more intent on subjecting his plans to their own bureaucratic form of water torture.
— E-mail this Star columnist at ccason@VenturaCountyStar.com
Posted by CarpCoyote on August 17, 2008 at 7:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
A Hole in the Ground....
It is clear the Montecito Planning Commission never intended to approve the Caruso Miramar plan. After months of meetings, they claimed they didn't have time to absorb all the information. They offered excuse after excuse, blaming everyone except themselves for this debacle. I watched them spend hours trying to figure out what a basement is, what a mean high tide line is, struggle to read blueprints, and on and on. What qualifications do these folks have?
The Montecito planning commission ignored their professional staff and instead relied on testimony from folks like actress Julia Louie Dreyfus, who impressed the board by telling them she belongs to Heal the Ocean in SB and Heal the Bay in LA..WOW...what credentials! Is she an engineer? a water or wastewater plant operator, a planner, a lawyer?? NO! She's an actress!!
After all this time, commissioner Philips says "redesign it" and commissioner Gottsdanker comes up with a silly requirement to trap all the rain that bounces off the Miramar roofs. I bet this is the type of nonsense that killed Caruso's enthusiasm..the amount of rain we get in Santa Barbara, dropping off the Miramar roof is not going to matter one iota or improve the ocean water quality in the least tiny bit! I'm sure that Claire was star struck by Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Heal the Ocean and wanted to impress them...
Being given volumes of information, the Montecito planning commission kept asking for more..and more..and more. They couldn't do the one thing their board was set up to do: MAKE A DECISION: either deny or approve it!
After hours of this bumbling silliness, Rick Caruso asked the board to deny the project so he could revisit his options. He said he could not redesign it to satisfy the five individuals who sit on the commission and could not afford going through never ending reviews. And who can blame him? The Montecito Planning Commission was unprofessional, rude to the applicant, incompetent and a complete embarrassment to Montecito. Supervisor Carbajal, you need to clean house.
Posted by RandyGeckos on August 17, 2008 at 8:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Who really cares?
Because, I'm sure that the average individual really relates to this saga and has deep concern over a guy who can afford a 50 million dollar property in Montecito. What -- was it a slow news month out of the Hamptons? Depressed real estate prices in Jackson Hole? Trouble with a developer in Aspen? Get real.
I mean, wasn't Donald Trump available for comment? What a joke. If this is the kind of thing that you have your panties in a wad over, you need to check yourself.
Keep the dramas of the upper 1% out of your fish wrap because no one cares.
Posted by CarpCoyote on August 17, 2008 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gee Randy, you need to get out of Oxnard a little more often...
Posted by Comments on August 17, 2008 at 9:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Er Randy, sounds like you have a big, HUGE chip on your shoulder. Why wouldn't we care? Just because I may not be able to afford to live in Montecito doesn't mean that I would not be interested in hearing this story. This is absolutely news. Like it or not we live in a capitalist society and business, especially healthy business is good for ALL of us.
It sounds like the existing property has gone to seed and is an eyesore. A respected business man (on behalf of an entire company w/ many employees I might add!) bought the property with the express purpose of building it into something. If there are valid reasons why his plan didn't work, then that's fine. The board should've denied the plan outright. I see no reason why they're yanking this guy's chain. There's just no purpose in that. And, I think it is indeed news that we all understand that this sort of ineptitude goes on in planning commissions. We should all be interested in how our gov't reps work. I frankly find it appalling that the commission heard Julia Louis Dreyfus and did not hear from true experts. I know that if I were living in Montecito I'd want the entire story reported. I might not agree with Caruso's plans, but then again I might. However, if it were never published then I'd never know what really was going on.
Try growing up a bit Randy and simply ignore the articles that you feel don't pertain to you or that you have no interest in. Just because you may be jealous and sour doesn't mean the rest of us feel the same way.
Posted by Oceans12 on August 17, 2008 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The article was excellent - shows just how a few can spoil it for many!
Posted by CAtruckdriver on August 17, 2008 at 1:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Rick folks think they are better then the average person, I've seen it (and experienced it) myself. I pickup & deliver equipment in Montecito sometimes & have encountered a few un-appreciative residents calling me vulgar names simply because of being in their "way". I hope Mr. Caruso gets approved & builds a multi-story hotel & blocks a few views! LOL
Posted by res0crek on August 17, 2008 at 1:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm with Randy. Nobody cares... except the rich people.
Posted by juandeveras on August 18, 2008 at 12:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ms. Cason's attempt at humor or levity here comes across unfortunately as sarcasm rather than wit. Had she witnessed the monumental hassle Mr. Caruso's team encountered, she would have hopefully been a bit more objective. Mr. Caruso's presentation and approach were impressive. The members of the "Planning Commission" were lacking in credentials. This property will sit empty for ten years.
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