Developer Rick Caruso didn’t even have to speak.

The deal was done, sealed long before Friday morning’s meeting began.

The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission voted 4-0 to approve the Rosewood Miramar Beach hotel resort’s housing and retail project.

Caruso, who spoke at two previous public meetings, deferred to his son, Justin Caruso, and planner Katie Mangin, senior director of development at Caruso, to make a brief presentation Friday outlining the project. They knew, as did everyone else in the room, that the mystery over the fate of the Miramar was over.

Earlier in the week, Caruso and All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church struck a deal, with the assistance of Planning Commissioner John Parke, for the church to drop its opposition in exchange for Caruso making his housing project smaller.

“We want to thank the community for their time and participation in this process with us,” Justin Caruso said. “We have hundreds and hundreds of supporters throughout Montecito, including those who have signed support letters that I have with me today.”

Caruso wants to build 26 affordable-housing units and eight market-rate units at the luxury hotel at 1555 S. Jameson Lane in Montecito. He also wants to add about 17,500 square feet of high-end boutique retail shops. The church had opposed the project, but dropped its opposition after Caruso agreed to set back the second floor of the apartments closest to the church by 40 feet.

However, the agreement felt like a betrayal to some of the neighbors, who continue to oppose the project. They cite concerns about additional traffic, the environmental review, and whether the Miramar needs 17,500 square feet of luxury retail shops.

Page Robinson, who lives on Eucalyptus Lane, said the Miramar already does not adhere to its parking requirements during special events, blocking fire access and public safety frequently.

“It’s on us, the neighbors, to run around like the vigilante paparazzi doing the county’s job,” Robinson said. “Not my first choice. I shouldn’t have to be the safety police.”

She said the Miramar is thumbing its nose at the concerns of the neighbors.

“Their entire business is predicated on using public, coastal parking,” Robinson said.

Cliff Ghersen, a longtime Montecito resident, also raised concerns about the increased traffic from the retail shops.

“I feel that this project will have an adverse impact on our public health and safety, due mostly to overflowing street parking and much more traffic,” he said.

In a moment of drama, Ghersen and another Montecito resident, Chris Horner, displayed a horizontal scroll of 168 signatures of people who oppose the Miramar project.

The project also has drawn some opposition from union groups who want Caruso to hire local contractors for the job.

“The developer here today is seeking approval on a project that will create generational wealth for them,” said Josh Taylor, speaking on behalf of the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters. “So, the question I have is, where is the reinvestment back in the community by way of ensuring area standards, wages and benefits for the contractors that are going to do the construction as well as general contractors participating in apprenticeship programs?”

He said using local workers would be a huge reinvestment into the community and the local area.

The meeting took an odd turn as soon as it began when Parke spoke for 15 minutes about his ex-parte communications with interested parties before the hearing. He referenced a Bill Cosby comedy album titled “I Started Out as a Child” to explain the number of conversations he had behind the scenes.

Then, a few minutes later, during the time of the meeting when the commissioners are supposed to ask staff questions, Parke took the time to make the unusual move of explaining how he had worked privately to facilitate a deal between Caruso and All Saints.

“I wanted to explain the genesis of the alternate proposal,” said Parke, before talking for another 10 minutes about how he suggested setting the second story back 40 feet to avoid blocking the views from the church. He said he made the suggestion, and the two sides took his advice.

Parke talked for so long about his role in making the deal that after about 14 minutes, fellow Commissioner Michael Cooney interrupted and told him his comments would be better for the end of the meeting, not the beginning, before the public had a chance to comment.

Parke stopped talking shortly afterward. At the end of the meeting, he addressed the neighbors’ concerns about traffic and alleged that there was more traffic decades ago than there is now.

“I don’t know that our traffic is going to be so overwhelmingly difficult and dangerous compared to what it used to be,” Parke said.

The project is likely to get appealed to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. First District Supervisor Das Williams, who represents Montecito, supports the project. The neighbors want an appeal delayed until January when Roy Lee, the new supervisor, takes office. He has met with the neighbors and expressed concern about the Miramar plan.

An hour after the meeting finished, Rick Caruso issued a public statement.

“We’re extremely proud of our plan for the Miramar, which was carefully designed to meet the long-term needs of our employees as well as the Montecito community,” he said. “I sincerely thank the many residents who have given us their support and their trust, and I appreciate the work of All Saints church in reaching a mutually acceptable agreement. We are eager to move forward and bring this remarkable plan to life.”