Caruso, the owner of the Rosewood Miramar Beach luxury hotel in Montecito, won approval Tuesday to build 26 affordable-housing units, eight market-rate units and about 17,500 square feet of high-end boutique retail shops at the resort, 1555 S. Jameson Lane.

"For more than two years, we have worked side by side with the community to create an exceptional plan for the Miramar that will bring unprecedented benefits to Montecito and our dedicated employees," Caruso said. "We are grateful for the trust the community has placed in our team, and eager to continue that close partnership as we deliver a plan that all of Montecito can be proud of."

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved the project 5-0, voting to reject three separate appeals filed by neighbors, a union and Heal the Ocean. The appellants raised many concerns about the project, including regarding traffic, air pollution, flooding, parking and evacuations, as well as the lack of a full environmental review.

The outcome, however, was predictable.

Although opposition to the project had been strong dating back more than a year, Caruso and his public relations team steadily wore down the critics. A month ago, one of the project's main opponents, All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, reached a deal with Caruso.

Caruso and his team focused much of their public discourse on the housing and not the boutique shops. The 26 units of housing are billed as the first "affordable units" in the unincorporated area.

County Supervisor Laura Capps noted that the project called for only 26 affordable units, where as Goleta, Santa Barbara and other parts of the area are required by the state to build thousands of units.

"I am dedicated to making sure we have more workforce housing so people can live where they work," Capps said. "That's the Santa Barbara I grew up in in the '70s and '80s, and it's almost non-existent now."

She urged the critics to put the number of units being built into context.

"This is a very small step -- 26 out of thousands that are happening elsewhere -- but it does get my enthusiastic support," Capps said.

The opponents said they never had a problem with the affordable housing for employees. Peter Gherson, one of the opponents, said that the housing, however, was a ruse for Caruso to build his luxury boutique shops for the super wealthy.

At Tuesday's meeting, he called the project a "high-end mall and mixed-use project."

"I feel that the health and safety of our neighborhood residents will be threatened by the effects of increased traffic, congestion and spillover parking all around the residential streets," Ghersen said.

He said the project violates and "tramples on" the Montecito Community Plan.

"We don't need more retail and more eateries, especially in our residential neighborhoods," Ghersen said.

He noted that there are nine existing retail shops, and that Caruso wants to add 12 more with the project.

Caruso, who accumulated his wealth through owning and developing shopping malls, and who unsuccessfully ran for Los Angeles mayor in 2022, purchased the Miramar for about $50 million in 2007.

Supervisor Joan Hartmann said she was impressed with the design of the workforce housing and that it is "not of inferior quality."

"I think many of us would love to live there," Hartmann said.

Supervisor Das Williams supported Caruso from the beginning. He told opponents not to lose sight of the good of affordable housing, which he said would house people where they work and reduce peak-hour traffic tips, which helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

He said that more new hotels should include employee housing and that the Miramar project shows that other hotels can follow the same pattern.

"Am I enthusiastic about the commercial? No," Williams said.

He said a lot of his conversations with the Caruso team were centered on reducing the amount of commercial space, and they listened.

"Do I know enough about their finances to understand how far they could have pushed that? I do not," Williams said. "I do also think people have a right to make money. A business has a right to make some money."

In a statement after the meeting, Caruso said: "We are thrilled that the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved our plan for The Miramar today, upholding last month's unanimous approval by the county Planning Commission. This is a thoughtful plan that will enable us to better serve our community, our guests and our employees for many years to come."