Wait until El Niño passes to decide about Surfliner Inn

It all began as a great idea: Let’s build a boutique hotel catering to train travelers in the parking lot at the old train station because it was unsightly and costly to maintain. A hotel would generate much-needed revenue. People would travel there and stay a few days, go dining and shopping and everyone would make lots of money. But something happened. What if there was no more rail service? The entire coast of California is rapidly disintegrating and posing a threat not only to the railroad but also highways and thousands of beachfront homes. In Carpinteria, over a thousand properties are at risk. The city has erected a 9.5-foot sand berm to protect some of those properties but does not guarantee it will hold. This El Niño has been described to be the most powerful in history. Our governor declared a state of emergency months ago in anticipation of the storms to come. Already they are having a devastating effect on our coast and the main storms have yet to arrive.

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