Carpinteria will be able to make extensive improvements to its bluffs parcels after the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to give the city funds to help restore the habitat and provide more public access for residents.

The $800,000 grant will largely be used to pay for trail projects and improvements on the city’s Rincon Bluffs parcel, also known as Bluffs Three, city staff told the Carpinteria City Council last month.

Wade Cowper, the chief of staff for First District Supervisor Roy Lee, presented the topic to the board on Tuesday.

Cowper said the Carpinteria Bluffs are “regionally significant.”

“It’s a coastal open space that’s used by so many people, not just in the Carpinteria area, but throughout the South Coast,” he said.

The city will use the money to restore the habitat by removing invasive plant species and reintroducing native vegetation. The city plans to add parking, bathrooms and other features to make the area more inviting to the public.

The funds will also be used to build new trails and make parts of the existing trails ADA-compliant.

The Carpinteria Bluffs are split into different parcels, which include the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve, the Rincon Bluffs Preserve and the Rincon Gateway.

The Gateway was acquired by the Land Trust of Santa Barbara County last year.

A privately owned parcel, known as Bluffs One, is located on the other side of the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve. A golf driving range, Tee Time, resides on that spot.

A housing project with 94 townhomes and 97 single-family dwellings is proposed for the Bluffs One parcel. The city deemed that application complete in December.

The $800,000 will be given to the City of Carpinteria in four annual payments of $200,000, according to county staff. Under the agreement, Carpinteria will be allowed to spend the funds on improvements to the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve, the Rincon Bluffs Preserve and any future bluff acquisitions.

The money for the project was part of the funds set aside by then-First District Supervisor Das Williams during the 2021-22 fiscal year.

The hope, at first, was that the money could be used to purchase additional Carpinteria bluffs parcels and prevent future development.

Carpinteria city staff said last month — in response to community inquiries about bluffs purchases — that the city can’t purchase property that isn’t for sale.

County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato said on Tuesday that even though the funds are for open spaces, they have usually been used in unincorporated parts of the county. The county does not typically fund these projects in large cities.

Supervisor Lee, who represents the district the bluffs are in, thanked the rest of the board for their support and said it helps strengthen the bonds between Carpinteria and the county.

“This is a great opportunity you don’t see this often,” Lee said. “(It is) something very positive (that) preserves our open space and a piece of the land that we fought so hard for.”