Grass-Roots Drive Saves Carpinteria Ocean Bluffs From Development
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A grass-roots effort to save the oceanfront Carpinteria Bluffs from development succeeded when escrow closed this week on the 52-acre, $3.95-million property.
The Land Trust of Santa Barbara County closed escrow on the property and will soon turn it over to Carpinteria for a park. Carpinteria had a Dec. 31 deadline to buy the property from former owner Shea/Vickers Development LLC.
Campaign leaders said they were delighted.
“The contributions have been coming in so fast. We’ve gotten them from up and down the state. We haven’t really had a chance to catch up with it all,” said Vera Bensen, a member of Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs and a board member of the land trust.
Children held penny and nickel drives and businesses gave a percentage of their income to add to some large private donations and $950,000 in state and county grants. Bensen said the organization is still raising funds because it must pay back a $1-million loan from the California Coastal Conservancy. And it must collect the $649,000 in outstanding pledges.
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