On Tuesday, a packed Santa Barbara City Hall heard hours of public comment for and against the 101 Garden Street Hotel project.
"We recognize that changes are inevitable and it's not necessarily that we're advocating for no development in that space, but we're advocating for the right one. And this hotel, as it is proposed today, is not the right hotel for this site, for this space," said Brittany Zajic, president of "Keep the Funk."
Zajic says the hotel would take over 4.5 acres along Garden Street and Yanonali Street, an area that currently houses more than 100 businesses and art studios. Several business owners on-site told community reporter Juliet Lemar they’ve been at this location for decades and that finding a new place to operate in Santa Barbara will be challenging.
But not everyone is opposed to the project.
"I think it's going to be a great project. It's going to be a lot of good economy in this area, great paying jobs," said Luna Labor Union member Hertz Ramirez.
Ramirez came to speak at Tuesday’s meeting in favor of the project.
"We're under the understanding that it's going to be a union-built project with a local union workforce," Ramirez said.
Coastal risk and resilience geomorphologist David Revell says flooding is his biggest concern.
"It's already in a flood zone, and we're adding sea level rise into the mix. I think this is a bad place to build," he said.
Other community members say that with a hotel of this size, they have concerns about increased traffic, stress on the city’s water supply and wish the land would be used for housing instead of a hotel.
In April, the developer added six affordable units to help mitigate housing impacts and agreed to give $500,000 to the City’s Local Housing Trust Fund. The developer did not wish to comment on this story.
The project will be back up for discussion on Nov. 19.
