Surfliner Inn train station parking lot project in Carpinteria set for environmental review

CARPINTERIA, Calif. - It's been several years in the design process, and now, the Surfline Inn project in Carpinteria has a completed application for the city to review.

At a recent council meeting, the project's next steps were detailed.

A tentative date for an Architectural Review Board hearing on Sep. 26 has been moved deeper into the calendar for several reasons.

To do the review, story poles would have to go up in the parking lot (#3) where the project is planned.  The lot is necessary for maximum parking during the upcoming Avocado Festival in early October.   

The city does not want to close two-thirds of the lot at this time. 

A new date will be set. 

Story poles would then go up two weeks in advance, to give the community a sense of the size and scale of the project.

It is proposed to be 36 rooms with a cafe, rooftop deck, visitor center, and solar panels. 

Nearby, a new 93-space parking lot would be built in a lot next to the Spot restaurant. 

There would also be new restrooms.

The project was proposed in 2020, but a challenge was on the ballot in 2022 through Measure T. It would have rezoned the land for the hotel and it could have ended the plan. 

It failed and the process picked up again.

The city will make widespread announcements when the new hearing date is set and the story poles will go up.

For more information go to: Surfliner Inn