Two competing gatherings on April 9 — a developer-hosted open house and a concurrent community event organized nearby by preservation advocates — drew strong turnouts and sharply different reactions to a proposed 191-home project on the Carpinteria Bluffs.
At the developer’s open house, organizers of “The Farm Carpinteria” outlined plans for 191 for-sale residences — 94 townhomes and 97 single-family homes — on roughly 27 acres at 5885 Carpinteria Ave., a site now used as a golf driving range and for agriculture.
The property sits next to the decommissioned Chevron facility, Carpinteria City Hall, and the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve. Developers said hundreds of residents and stakeholders attended to review exhibits and offer feedback…