Council approves 24-unit mixed-use project at 4745 Carpinteria Avenue

The Carpinteria City Council voted this week to approve the 4745 Carpinteria Ave. development – a 24-unit commercial and residential development – with the stipulation that the overall height of the project be brought down, and that one of the three low-income units be marketed at a very-low-income rate. 

The council convened a special meeting on Tuesday, March 26 to discuss the project after appealing the Carpinteria Planning Commission’s approval of the development at its Feb. 12 regular meeting. Dozens of neighbors and community members spoke against the project at the Feb. 12 meeting, with concerns over the height of the project, the proximity and privacy of those living on Ninth Street and potential traffic issues. 

“We definitely will not be able to have everybody satisfied with the outcome of this,” said Councilmember Wade Nomura, following public comment. “We all have to compromise somehow.”

The mixed-use development project at 4745 Carpinteria Ave. – headed by developer Justin Klentner, CEO of Western Built Construction – has gone back and forth between Carpinteria’s governing bodies over the past few years, mostly due to its use of the California Density Bonus Law, and concerns from neighbors regarding the size and scale of the development. 

The California Density Bonus Law allows developers to increase the density of their property above what is allowed by local jurisdictions, in exchange for providing a certain percentage of affordable units. This development would utilize the law to include six additional units, with 24 total, and exceed the maximum building height permitted in Carpinteria. In exchange, the development would provide three units for low-income households for a minimum of 99 years.

During the council’s special meeting Tuesday, more than a dozen community members came out for public comment, with the majority speaking against the development. 

“It seems unethical and absurd to violate the integrity of Carpinteria’s well-thought-out general plan, for three measly low-income units,” said public speaker Leslie Gascoigne.

Gascoigne and other public commenters argued that the affordable units, which are all one-bedroom units, would not go to local families or young people looking to settle down in Carpinteria.

Katherine Salant – a member of the Carpinteria Planning Commission who spoke as a private citizen during Tuesday’s meeting – outlined numerous concerns regarding privacy for potential residents. An example included the first-floor units with windows facing a public walkway. Salant shared her concerns that the distance between two of the units facing each other on the walkway would be less than 10 feet. 

Salant abstained from voting on the development when it came before the commission in February. 

Other commenters, including Mike Wondolowski, president of the Carpinteria Valley Association, suggested the developers decrease the overall size of the units to allow for more privacy, and decrease the excessive height of the development. 

“This kind of thing is the unforeseen consequence of these new housing laws,” Salant said. “There is some room for towns like us, for the city council, to make these units more livable.” 

Ninth Street residents also made their cases for appealing the project. Residents of the Arbor Trailer Mobile Home Park, which sits across the street from the property, have stated that the property would tower over the ground-floor trailers, eliminating privacy for some residents and obstructing views. 

John Nicoli, the manager of the Arbor Trailer Mobile Home Park, also shared traffic concerns, predicting that congestion from additional residents would make it difficult to exit onto Carpinteria Avenue. “I think it’s going to get very congested, and that’s in addition to all the people that live on Ninth Street already,” Nicoli said. “People on Ninth Street are parking on dirt, the dust is crazy. We need to take care of the residents that already live there.”

Some locals spoke in favor of the development, including Patrick Crooks, board president of Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs, who spoke as a neighbor of the project. Crooks argued that Carpinteria is bound to change as time goes on, and new developments are part of the process. 

“I’m looking at this project from the standpoint of somebody who wants to retain the charms that this town does have in the open spaces,” Crooks said. “This developer I believe does want Carp to remain Carp for what it can be.”

During council discussion, Vice Mayor Natalia Alarcon asked the developer to include at least one very-low-income unit. She complimented the developers for working to address concerns. “I think if we could choose out of any and all projects, this is a good one right now,” she said. “It’s gonna push Carpinteria a little bit, but I think we’re in a good place.”

Regarding concerns over the height, Klentner told the council that he will work to bring down the height of the project, stating that by reconfiguring the roof, he could bring it down by up to 17 inches. 

The council voted 4-0 to approve the project with the new height and income stipulations, with council member Mónica Solórzano recusing herself. 

[Updated April 2, 6:30 p.m.]

[For the Record: Katherine Salant did not mention the overall height of the project during the meeting; she shared her concerns about the size of the walkways on the second and third floors and the tunnel it creates, and requested the units be made smaller and the walkway wider.]

[For the Record: Patrick Crooks spoke as a neighbor of the project.]