Carpinteria City planning staff presented project 25‑2360 for 444 La Tierra Lane, a proposal to relocate a side‑loaded garage to a street‑facing garage door, reconfigure the driveway and sidewalk (work in the public right‑of‑way), reuse front‑yard fence materials and add new landscaping and lighting. Staff noted the proposal would require removing a city‑maintained ginkgo biloba and replacing it in a new location, which must be reviewed by the Tree Board.

Board members praised the proposal’s increased frontage landscaping and generally supported a street‑facing garage in this cul‑de‑sac context while raising technical questions. Discussion focused on driveway gate setback and safety (some members urged awareness of cars waiting in the street while gates open), the visual treatment of the garage to avoid dominating the streetscape, and tree selection (concern about planting a large‑growing species in a constrained front yard). Staff confirmed there is no code provision requiring a specific gate setback in this case but said they would follow up with public‑works standards as needed.

Vice Chair O'Connor moved to approve preliminary with a recommendation that staff be authorized to move the item to final (including staff sign‑off on the garage door design); the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. Staff will refer the proposed removal of the city‑maintained ginkgo tree to the Tree Board and follow up with the applicant on gate setback and final garage‑door materials and cut sheets.

Next steps: staff to coordinate Tree Board review for the ginkgo, verify driveway/gate safety against public‑works standards, and collect final garage‑door details for staff review.