Pending environmental review, hospital renovation could start in a few months
Warning a project delay will ultimately cost the community more money and may threaten health-care services, Cottage Health System officials last week pushed the city Planning Commission to move quickly to approve a new, $407 million regional hospital.
The rebuilding program, due to begin in 2005 with completion by 2012, involves replacing the existing hospital, to meet new seismic standards. It also includes the construction of three nursing pavilions, a new entrance at Castillo and Pueblo streets, and a diagnostic and therapeutic wing on the Junipero Street side of the complex.
Cottage plans to use a combination of hospital reserves, a tax-exempt bond issue, foundation assets, and a major community fund-raising effort to pay for the project, but will not rely on tax dollars.
Construction could begin in the spring, but first it must get past an environmental review, the first phase of which was heard Dec. 2.
About 70 people attended the meeting but many left early as the discussion stretched to nearly five hours. It was clear there was strong support for the state-of-the-art hospital but also many concerns about the effects on the surrounding neighborhood. Speakers expressed concerns about construction, traffic and environmental impacts.
“Given that the purpose of the hospital is to improve our community’s health and given that Santa Barbara is often a front-runner in implementing proactive environmental practices that often exceed the requirements of law, the redesign of Cottage Hospital should be viewed as an opportunity to implement the best possible protections of health and environment,” said Kira Schmidt, executive director of Santa Barbara Channelkeeper.
Her sentiments were echoed by representatives from the Citizen’s Planning Association and Heal the Ocean, both of whom also suggested a closer look at the sewage system and possible development of a sewage treatment plant for the hospital.
This was the first public meeting in which the project’s draft environmental impact report was discussed. Public comment ends Dec. 15 and the matter must return to the commission for final approval early next year.
For a copy of the report visit www.santabarbaraca.gov/Resident/Community/Planning/cottage.htm. Comments may be sent to Irma Unzueta, the project planner for the city, via e-mail to iunzueta@SantaBarbaraCA.gov or P.O. Box 1990, Santa Barbara 93102.