{"id":4245,"date":"2004-08-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=4245"},"modified":"2017-12-29T12:08:22","modified_gmt":"2017-12-29T20:08:22","slug":"cottage-housing-plan-causes-conflicts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=4245","title":{"rendered":"Cottage housing plan causes conflicts"},"content":{"rendered":"

While some neighbors are still leery, city planners last week praised Cottage Health System<\/a>‘s plan to build workforce housing on the site of the old St. Francis Medical Center, which it purchased for about $18 million last year.<\/p>\n

The purpose of the three-hour plus meeting was to outline which environmental impacts should be studied, but comments from the public were much further reaching, with equally passionate opponents and proponents of the project.<\/p>\n

Neighbor Frank Hernandez offered praise for both the project itself and the public review process. “This is one of the better experiences I’ve had in Santa Barbara,” he said. “This is an excellent way to use seven acres.”<\/p>\n

Cottage plans to build 115 units for its workers, with 81 of them sold at below-market rates. The remaining 34 market rate units are required in order for us to be able to afford construction of the project, said Cottage’s Chief Executive Officer Ron Werft in his presentation of the project.<\/p>\n

These market rate units were of some concern to neighbor Jennifer Miller. “If it was 100 percent Cottage, I’d feel a lot more comfortable supporting it,” she said.<\/p>\n

Traffic and parking are also big issues in the neighborhood and many urged the environmental report to take the County Bowl into consideration, as well as the unique situation of having at least 81 Cottage employees living in the same place. While a shuttle service is being planned for the development, the city and the hospital have not yet come up with a way to enforce its use by employees.<\/p>\n

Throughout the meeting, the six planning commissioners expressed that they thought the project was a good one, but that the environmental report should look at impacts related to construction, noise, traffic, parking and circulation.<\/p>\n

“The general concept of a major employer taking advantage of an opportunity like this is just phenomenal,” said commissioner Grant House. “It’s a way to take a bite out of it (the housing crisis) instead of just a nibble.”<\/p>\n

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on August 5, 2005.<\/a><\/h6>\n

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