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Pini properties remain under microscope
This week’s listings on the back page
Water world
By PeTer Dugré
“(Dario Pini) plays cat and mouse games with city officials, county officials, enforcement officers and building inspectors, fixing some of the things so he can slide to another hearing … I don’t want to give him any more time.”
City officials continued using multiple tools to compel Dario Pini to renovate and bring up to code his Carpinteria avenue motel and apartment buildings, but the Planning Commission at a march 3 meeting was unimpressed by Pini’s seeming inability to get any workers to use their tools in making construction progress at Casa Del sol. Despite expressing dissatisfaction with Pini’s request for a one-year extension on year-old plans to improve the troubled property, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to allow more time to turn the property around. the alternative would have been to restart the permitting process. at the hearing, brian murphy, architect for Pini, requested more time to remodel the facades, interiors and landscaping ––Commissioner of the 19-room motel and Jane Benefield 12-unit apartment building at 5585 Carpinteria ave. murphy had stated in a letter to the city that juggling the Casa del sol project simultaneously with renovations at neighboring Cypress tree apartments, tomarla apartments, La Concha apartments and sycamore apartments had become too burdensome to simultaneously complete. Commissioner Jane Benefield, who called Pini a “slum lord,” implied that feet dragging was the project applicant’s modus operandi. she said, “(Pini) plays cat and mouse games with city officials, county officials, enforcement officers and building inspectors, fixing some of the things so he can slide to another hearing … I don’t want to give him any more time … It’s apparent that Mr. Pini calculates whether the fine outweighs the building costs. the community is always the loser.” In the end, however, even Benefield voted to issue the one-year extension rather than start the process from scratch. Community Development Director Jackie Campbell explained that the code enforcement branch of her department had been citing Pini for code and building
PLANNING continued on page 19
Garrett Combs
Emily Gates, left, and Maia Hinton took a wet walk along the Carpintera Creek bike path in the midst of a five-day storm that dumped 3.99 inches on Carpinteria. The teens’ March 1 route gave them a close-up view of cascading storm runoff leading into Carpinteria Creek. Though Carpinteria received quite a bit of rain, as well as high surf, the Valley faired well in the storm, sustaining little damage. For more photos of storm conditions, see pages 14 and 15.
Water board hesitantly votes in favor of regional water broker By Lea BoyD
Despite some trepidation, Carpinteria Valley Water District’s board of directors voted on Feb. 26 to join fellow water agencies in the Central Coast Water authority in hiring a water broker to seek out available sources of the precious commodity. Chief among board concerns was the district’s liability exposure in the case of a water purchase, but the decision to engage a broker is just the first of multiple steps toward a water deal, and the board will have future opportunities to accept or reject specific water contract terms. the Central Coast Water authority, which manages and operates pipelines for distribution of state Water in santa barbara and parts of san Luis obispo counties, met the following day and voted to revise the agreement with broker sierra Water Group and reconsider it at a special meeting held after Coastal View News went to press on march 6. though sierra would be hired by the Water authority as a whole, individual water agencies will be able to decide which water deals, if any, they wish to
participate in. the broker will work to secure water on what’s called the “spot market,” in which the resource is sold by individuals or organizations with water to spare, such as farmers with stored water. CVWD had anticipated that its vote at the Water authority meeting would not affect the outcome, given that member agencies santa maria and montecito water districts, which account for 43 and 9 percent of voting power respectively, are thirsty for new water sources. June Van Wingerden, Carpinteria’s representative on the Water authority, told her fellow CVWD boardmembers, “We’re being forced to do this right now because there are some agencies that are really in dire straits.” though Van Wingerden agreed to follow the direction of her board at the Feb. 27 Water authority meeting, she had cast her own vote against supporting the decision the night before. she and boardmember richard Forde were the dissenting minority on the CVWD board.
WATER BOARD continued on page 19