STATUS: Housing Approved!
Santa Monica Bay Towers Homeowners Association vs Santa Monica
Rendering of the proposed Fairmont Miramar Project
For the past 10 years the city of Santa Monica and a private developer have been working to redevelop a 4.7 acre site at the end of Wilshire Boulevard. The site is currently occupied by Fairmont Miramar hotel and the developer hopes to replace the hotel while also constructing 60 market rate homes and 42 affordable homes. The city has been consistently supportive of the project, has long listed the site as a potential location for residential development, and ultimately approved entitlements for the project in 2020.
After the approvals a lawsuit was initiated by the homeowners association of the adjacent condominium complex. The suit alleges that the approvals violate the local coastal plan and that the city violated the California Environmental Quality Act in the process of approving the project. We decided to intervene in the lawsuit to support the city and the developer against the HOA.
We believe that the allegations regarding the coastal plan and CEQA are incorrect. However, more importantly, we recognize that the city of Santa Monica needs to be able to fulfill its RHNA obligations by approving housing projects on designated sites. For these reasons we intervened in the lawsuit on the side of the developer and city. CEQA cannot be used to undermine the RHNA process and we intend to ensure that the outcome of this case is favorable to the larger legal housing climate.
Our intervention ended in a settlement, with the case being dismissed with prejudice. This was a win for housing, as it cleared the way for the final approval from the coastal commission, which approved the necessary Local Coastal Program updates on March 10th, 2022.
Our intervenor’s motion on points and authorities is available here.