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redditCottage Hospital won a key legal victory that will allow it to move forward with plans to build 115 units of housing at the site of the abandoned St. Francis Hospital. The 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected claims by St. Francis Friends and Neighbors, a group of neighborhood advocates opposed to the housing plan, who charged the City Council exceeded its legal authority in granting Cottage approval in December 2006. To approve the housing proposal, the council had to allow Cottage to shoehorn more units into the six-acre space than existing zoning and set-back requirements would allow. The council opined that such modifications were acceptable because Cottage pledged to sell 81 of the 115 proposed units to its employees at below-market prices. St. Francis Friends noted the units in question were to be sold at “upper-middle income” rates and objected that nothing in the city’s municipal code authorized the use of bonus densities for such relatively affluent homebuyers. The panel of three appellate justices disagreed. Additionally, it observed approvingly that the hospital located the densest development at the center of the site to minimize impacts on the neighborhood and that by providing employee housing, Cottage assured that healthcare workers would be available to Santa Barbara in times of emergency. Shortly after the court ruling was issued, Cottage submitted an application for a demolition and grading permit, as well as for plans to begin construction on half the units.
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Comments
This project is a shame that the City establishment rejected re-use of the existing St. Francis hospital building for the employee housing. Those condos or apartments would have been a bit narrow, but just fine for selling at half the market rate so close to the workplace.
Politics is about judgment.
David_Pritchett (David Pritchett)
May 21, 2009 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The housing economics have radically changed since this project was conceived.
What will the cost be to build? What can they sell the affordable units for vs the market rate units?
There are so many unsold condo's on the market -- who is going to want to by one of the 34 market rate condo's surrounded by 81 affordable units in a very dense environment ..
Could this be Chapala One revisited?
loneranger (anonymous profile)
May 21, 2009 at 11:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Housing economics have changed...construction costs are down making it a great time to build any project. The Riviera real estate market has barely felt the economic downturn. Great job by Cottage, the Architect & Engineers and the SB City Planners for making this project a reality! Can't wait for the rehabilitation of the site to commence.
dsully (anonymous profile)
May 21, 2009 at 8:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Cottage managed to chew up all of its competition, forcing a healthcare monopoly on SB and the Santa Ynez Valley. There is now nowhere to go except "Cottage Health System".
St Francis was a small, friendly place staffed with caring people who were not overworked/underpaid like the poor souls slaving their lives away for the "Cottage Health System".
St. Francis' Emergency room didn't have 3 hour+ waits, like "Cottage Health System".
St Francis' ER did not have a nurse cowering behind bulletproof glass, or a secret-code-requiring keypad entry into the patient area, or armed guards, or any of the rest of that Big City Keep-The-Customer-At-A-Distance nonsense that "Cottage Health System" has.
If you had to be sick and in an ER or the hospital, at least at St. Francis you felt like you mattered. At Cottage, you feel like a number and like you are interrupting someone's day if you dare touch a call button. And that is NOT because Cottage's employees are bad people, it is because they are toiling in a Corporate Chain environment, overworked, underpaid, and frantic all the time.
And now, Cottage Health System, ever the good community citizen (heavy sarcasm here), is shoving its "company sto' " beehive into an already crowded neighborhood with narrow streets. Hoo-boy! Another ugly condo cluster...and you just KNOW it will be the hideous white stucco/red tile crap that already infests the city, whether it fits into a neighborhood or not.
"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated"
Was there EVER any doubt that this project would be shoved down that neighborhood's throat? Why do people in SB even bother to object to this stuff? Developers and big money ALWAYS wins in SB. Everyone is in bed with everyone else, and the Silly Council is skilled at making a big show of "listening to input".
In reality, the Silly Council just waits for everyone's lips to stop moving long enough for them and their bought-and paid-for judges and enforcers to drop the gavel and say: "Go siddown. You're getting this project whether you want it or not. You didn't think we actually CARED what you wanted, did you?"
Increased traffic? Tough. Noise? Crime? Crowds? Ugly? Too bad. Some big corporation and the City want it, lots of money is being kicked into the right pockets, and that means your complaints are about as effective as the buzzing of a gnat in the ear of an elephant.
How incredibly sad that A: SB's hospital scenario is a giant corporate monopoly and B: that old building is being destroyed for yet another hideous cluster of cheesy, overpriced condos.
It was never any mystery to me what would happen. I can't believe anyone else ever thought it would go any other way.
Santa Barbara "Done Deal", California...
Holly (anonymous profile)
May 22, 2009 at 12:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Reason has prevailed over whining.
JohnLocke (anonymous profile)
May 22, 2009 at 10:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I used to live in that neighborhood; the increased traffic and noise, that will begin to happen, whilst the project is being constructed, will be hideous and the increased traffic, afterwards, will be compounded, as well! This is really a transparent travesty!
macatack5 (anonymous profile)
May 22, 2009 at noon (Suggest removal)
Great Job Cottage! This project will be a huge improvement to the longevity of Santa Barbara as a community.
dsully (anonymous profile)
May 22, 2009 at 2:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
St. Francis was closed due to reto fit issues was it not? I thought it would not and could not meet earthquake standards and or did not have the funds to make the changes also?
Thisislame (anonymous profile)
May 27, 2009 at 1:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)