> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Miramar developers given some wiggle room - URL: https://www.smdp.com/miramar-developers-given-some-wiggle-room/ - Published: 2003-12-04T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T03:17:48.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Downtown, #archive-import *Blueprints for hotel expansion will be drafted in conjunction with City Hall staffers* Elected officials agreed Tuesday that City Hall’s laws are too strict to govern the expansion of an historic hotel downtown. The City Council voted 5-1 to negotiate what’s called a “development agreement” with representatives of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel at Ocean Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, giving both sides considerable flexibility in the project. For developers, it means possibly circumventing height restrictions and other limitations. For City Hall, the agreement gives staffers some negotiating leverage to push for more affordable housing, parking and other benefits to residents. But Matthew DiNapoli, who represents the Miramar developers, said those and other specifications may change. “The real work is ahead of us,” he said Wednesday. “We need to sit down with staff and weigh (the community’s input) against the appropriate development for that site.” Perhaps the most contentious feature of the proposal is the height of the additions. Though council members repeatedly stressed they wouldn’t back a high-rise tower infringing on views of the ocean and bluffs, which was part of an earlier proposal, developers said they need to exceed City Hall’s height restrictions for the project to be economical. Buildings in that area can’t be taller than 45 feet, or three stories, according to city code. Community members, including members of the Wilshire-Montana Neighborhood Coalition, have fought against the expansion, specifically the 16-story tower proposed last year. Many also were against granting a development agreement for the project, saying it would effectively remove public input from the process, or interject it too late, when plans are complete. Planning department director Suzanne Frick said the developers will be urged to do community outreach before drafting their plans, and reminded council members that any plan will return to the council for approval. City Councilman Herb Katz cast the sole vote against sending staffers to negotiate the parameters of the project. Though he agreed a development agreement is appropriate for the site, Katz said he thought the remodel plans should be more detailed. 417,“It’s nice that you want to do this, but I think it could be done much better,” he said. “And I’m leading into the fact that before I’m interested in the city negotiating in some kind of a development agreement, I think the applicant needs to come back with... a start of creativity and a real sensitivity to what that whole corner and that hotel is all about.” He added that the whole reason height restrictions were put into effect in Santa Monica is because of the high-rise building just across Wilshire Boulevard, the tallest in town. Only two members of the public spoke on the matter Tuesday. Both asked the council to hold Miramar officials to current zoning laws. “I found myself thinking, ‘Do we need a development agreement here?’” said Darrell Clarke, chair of City Hall’s Planning Commission. “What could be built under the existing zoning in terms of height limits and everything would certainly provide an opportunity to make use of the empty land along Wilshire Boulevard and provide more of an enlivening pedestrian experience.” Clarke spoke after Art Harris, a former board member of the Bayside District Corp., the nonprofit charged with running downtown. Harris praised the retail space, parking and affordable housing components of the project, but said he was against a high tower at the site and worried that underground parking may disrupt the geology of the adjacent bluffs. Council members generally agreed that the controversial tower should be scrapped. But they stopped short of saying how high the project should be allowed to go, pointing to the advantages residents stand to gain by giving developers some flexibility in dealing with City Hall’s restrictions. “It’s a unique property and it’s uniquely situated,” said City Councilman Kevin McKeown, referencing some of the charm of the 82-year-old hotel, built as a mansion in 1989 by silver miner and former State Sen. John Jones. The hotel has for years served as a celebrity getaway and meeting place for local and national leaders. Mayor Richard Bloom said it was important to give the developers some flexibility because the site requires “vision,” and planning codes are often “black and white.” 313,“The positive side of zoning is we can stop things in their tracks when we see them moving in the wrong direction,” said Bloom, who later added, “This is not opening the floodgates to an extraordinary amount of development.” DiNapoli agreed. He said the Miramar is situated on a sensitive property that is better managed in a “cooperative manner.” “We are pleased with the outcome,” he said Wednesday. “It was a step in the right direction — but it was a very small step, in that most of the work is ahead of us.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/120403-01_01-7.jpg) The Bay Moreton fig tree at the Miramar Hotel, planted in 1889, towers eight stories high. (Photo: Del Pastrana/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 4, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/120403.pdf?ref=smdp.com)