New plans for the La Entrada development, slated for the lower two blocks of State Street, will be heard by the Planning Commission on 10/8. Architectural firm Design Arc and the project’s chief lender, Mountain Funding, are proposing revamped blueprints that would expand the development’s public courtyards, reduce building height, and add a new public parking garage. City Administrator Jim Armstrong was given the task of deciding whether new plans conform to City Council’s approval after Community Development Chief Paul Casey recused himself from proceedings because of a conflict of interest.
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The Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation and the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara each received a $4-million gift from the J. Jerry Inskeep Jr. Revocable Trust. The Inskeeps previously made a $1-million donation to the Campaign for Cottage Health System in 2005. Construction on the new Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital began in 2005 and is expected to cost more than $700 million.