What is Builders Remedy
Builder’s Remedy has been described as a lot of things. Here is an explanation of the law and how it applies to this project.
Builder’s Remedy has been described as a lot of things. Here is an explanation of the law and how it applies to this project.
four steps
Step 1 of 4
California assigns every city a legally binding target for new homes. Carpinteria’s is 901 units by 2031, across all income levels — more than five times the previous cycle
Step 2 of 4
Each city submits a Housing Element — a detailed plan showing how and where it will accommodate that housing. The state reviews and certifies it.
Step 3 of 4
If a city falls behind — missing rezoning deadlines or failing to certify — state law provides a pathway for housing projects to move forward without being blocked on local zoning grounds.
Step 4 of 4
Carpinteria certified its Housing Element on Jan 30, 2025. But under AB 1886, rights vested at the time of application remain in place regardless of subsequent certification.
The Farm filed its preliminary application in December 2024, before Carpinteria certified its Housing Element, which is what qualifies it for Builder's Remedy. The project still goes through full review: EIR, public hearings, Planning Commission, City Council, Coastal Commission.
No. It is a core provision of California’s Housing Accountability Act, signed into law and upheld by courts. It doesn’t bypass planning — it holds cities accountable to the housing plans they submitted and promised to deliver. Think of it as the enforcement mechanism for commitments already made.
Several community members have suggested other locations. The answer is straightforward: this site is zoned for residential use, already in the city's Housing Element land inventory, and the only site in Carpinteria with a complete application currently under review. 'Somewhere else' does not have a complete application, does not have an identified developer, and does not have a committed affordable housing partner. The state's mandate of 828 remaining units cannot be deferred to an unidentified future site. The Farm is ready now.
The Farm is a proposed residential community on a 27.53-acre site at 5885 and 5669 Carpinteria Avenue — the current location of the Tee Time golf driving range. The project consists of 191 for-sale homes: 97 single-family detached homes and 94 townhomes. 39 of those homes — approximately 20% — will be deed-restricted and sold at prices affordable to low-income households. The project also permanently dedicates 7.6 acres as publicly accessible open space with all-native vegetation, maintained trails, and a connection to the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve. All development is located north of the Union Pacific Railroad, with the southern bluff parcel permanently preserved.
The Farm is here because the state recognized that Carpinteria, like many California cities, had committed to housing it hadn't yet planned for. State law and local need point to the same place.