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Santa Monica Community Groups Wage Publicity War Over Hotel Overhaul

SANTA MONICA (CBS)— Two opposing community organizations are waging a public relations war over a major overhaul of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, which will top the agenda of the Santa Monica Planning Commission Wednesday night.

"Santa Monicans Against the Miramar Expansion" sent out a mailer to Santa Monica residents, encouraging them to oppose an attempt by New York developers to demolish the historic hotel and replace it with a "Las Vegas style hotel-condo-retail complex."

The mailer included a photo of a massive development perched atop a flaming asteroid and the phrase "Miramarmageddon."

Members of the group say the proposed hotel will reach 133 feet tall in some places and block many people's views of the ocean, decreasing their property values.

The hotel's owner, MSD Capital, disputes many of these claims.

An opposing community group, "Friends of the Miramar," see the renovation as an opportunity to fix up the hotel and bring in much-needed revenue for the city.

According to MSD Capital, the revamped hotel will bring in $5 million in revenues to City Hall.

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