By edhat staff
The Carpinteria community came together to vocally opposed a proposed “Farm & Hospitality Experience” on Carpinteria’s bluffs.
The City of Carpinteria held a special public meeting on March 30 with the Carpinteria City Council, Planning Commission, and Architectural Review Board to review a new conceptual development project at 5885 Carpinteria Avenue.
The applicant for the self-titled “Carpinteria Farm & Hospitality Experience” is Carp Bluff, LLC., owned by Matthew Goodwin with Laurel Fisher-Perez of Suzanne Elledge Planning and Permitting Services as the principal planner.
Their proposed project is described as a regenerative farm, boutique hotel, residential units, restaurant, and other community-facing amenities on 28 acres between Carpinteria Ave and the Pacific Ocean. It would be separated at the southern edge by the existing railroad line.
The project states that 7 acres will be used as organic farmland to supply the onsite restaurant, farmstand, and hotel. An event space with a 200-person capacity will be used for community and hotel events. The hotel will include 99 rooms comprised of lodges, bungalows, and cabins as well as other amenities including a library, spa, mini theatre, gym, pool, and more. There will be 16 “workforce housing units” averaging 650 sf. each, a 5,590 sf. restaurant and bar, 6,000 sf. farm barn, and 4,100 sf. of flexible multi-purpose area.
Site Plan Concept (courtesy photo)
“Now, more than ever, we have become out of touch with the very things that feed our soul; nature, connectivity, community. This concept is a cultivation of these life forces… It is our goal that this project can serve as an example of truly sustainable development; one that creates a symbiotic relationship between environment, community and economy and lives lightly on the land,” the Carp Bluff concept review presentation states.
This stretch of bluffs has been privately owned for decades but is commonly used by locals to access the Seal Rookery. The developer proposed a 20-foot-wide, public multi-use trail, connected to Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve trails and a second public harbor seal outlook, as well as public access to park on their property.
The special meeting drew a standing-room-only crowd who vocally opposed the development that spilled into more condemnation in online forums.
“I hope developers realize most Carpinterians don’t want any hotels of any kind being built. We are full. Redo the Palms. Redo Michael’s to the old omwegs and that’s about it,” one commenter posted in a Carpinteria Facebook group.
“I hope it doesn’t get approved, we have to protect our open sanctuaries,” another resident commented.
“Honestly, if you like this development idea why not just move to the OC? You can have your curated walk to the beach there. Leave Carp Country,” posted another.
A formal application is a next step for the developer followed by several reviews from the City of Carpinteri and the California Coastal Commission.
(courtesy photo)