Opponents of Carpinteria proposal see their lead increase
Measure T was placed on the ballot by Carpinteria residents who wanted to stop a proposed two-story boutique hotel from being built on the site of this downtown Carpinteria parking lot.
Opponents of Carpinteria’s Measure T ballot measure have increased their lead over supporters from eight votes to 82, according to the first post-election update results posted by Santa Barbara County.
The Vote No side of the controversial ballot measure received 2,334 or 50.78% of the vote, as opposed to the Vote Yes side, which received 2,262, or 49.22%.
The unofficial results still need to be certified.
Ann Sly, a spokeswoman for the Vote Yes side, remains hopeful Measure T supporters will receive the lion’s share of any uncounted votes still out there.
“I understand some votes in the county still need to be counted,” she said. “I don’t know how many are from Carpinteria.
“At this point,we’re hoping for a miracle.”
Jason Rodriguez, a Vote No spokesman, again appeared to be cautious in declaring victory, repeating a quote to the News-Press that he doesn’t want to count his eggs before they’re hatched.
“Having the lead widened is always a promising observation,” he said. “We’re hoping to confirm everything.”
Measure T was placed on the ballot by residents who wanted to stop a proposed two-story boutique hotel from being built on the site of what is now a downtown Carpinteria parking lot.
The Vote No side is not necessarily pro-hotel, but wants to make sure land-use decisions are made by elected officials respecting the city’s General Plan, as opposed to citizens resorting to ballot initiatives.
The Vote Yes side claimed the Carpinteria City Council ignored the wishes of the majority of residents by refusing to put the issue before them in a non-binding advisory vote.
They said that building the hotel would block the ocean view from downtown, and put in jeopardy the fate of the Community Garden, which sits adjacent to the parking lot at issue. They said they just want to preserve the downtown the way it is, and placed themselves as guardians of the city’s small-town image and charm.
The Vote No side, however, said the ballot measure, as written, was confusing and misleading, and that the word “hotel” does not actually appear in its language.
email: nhartstein@newspress.com
