Santa Barbara’s iconic Moreton Bay Fig Tree is getting a neighbor.

A three-story hotel is slated for 17-21 W. Montecito St. in the Funk Zone and will include 44 guest rooms, underground parking and a roof deck.

The hotel will replace a building previously occupied by Ducati Santa Barbara. The properties were formerly homes to Caesar’s Auto Supply, which was founded by the late Caeser Uyesaka in 1948, and a Harley-Davidson shop established in 1934.

Francis Arthur “Art” Mullaney ran the Harley-Davidson dealership until his 1961 death, according to the city’s Historic Resources Report.

The Santa Barbara City Council voted 5-0 on Tuesday to deny an appeal by Steven Johnson, who objected to the project. He said the underground parking would be within a flood zone and therefore inconsistent with regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the city’s general plan. He also alleged in his appeal that the way the city staff reviewed the project is “inconsistent with sound community planning.”

“The current design, there’s a section, if you look at it, the floodwater will simply pour into the basement,” Johnson said. “It’s not high enough. The design can’t possibly work.”

He said the design of the driveway ramp allows incursion of floodwater into the basement.

As appeals go, the hearing was short, and the council seemed nonplussed with the appellant’s arguments. Although some community members have objected to the city approving hotels over housing, this site, which is near the Amtrak train station, is not zoned for housing.

The City Council relied heavily on its staff in denying the appeal.

“I am pretty confident staff has this one correct,” Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse said.

Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon added: “I have complete confidence that staff has calculated and applied all codes accurately.”

The project includes a 10,000-square-foot underground parking area with 40 valet
parking spaces and two accessible parking spaces. The project requires the merging of
three parcels into a single, 11,839-square-foot lot, according to city staff.

Architect Clay Aurell, a co-founder and partner with AB Design Studios, represented the project. He said he has worked on it with city staff for more than three years. The project has been supported by the Santa Barbara Planning Commission and the Historic Landmarks Commission.

Aurell declined to give a full presentation on the project, which is typical at most appeal hearings.

“I think that staff has done an amazing job,” he said. “The project is compliant with all codes and laws, and it never would have made it to Planning Commission had it not been.”

Santa Barbara recently approved a controversial 250-room hotel a few blocks away at 101 Garden St.