Bittersweet Victory

St. Francis Housing Project Approved Amid Council Charges of
Arrogance

by Nick Welsh

Victory has rarely left so bitter an aftertaste as it did for
Cottage Health System at last week’s City Council meeting. Though
the Santa Barbara City Council overwhelmingly approved Cottage’s
long-simmering plans to build 115 workforce condos — 81 at
substantially below-market rates — on the site of the former St.
Francis Hospital, Councilmember Brian Barnwell castigated Cottage
administrators for what he described as their high-handed and
unilateral approach. “The Cottage board is really lucky that this
council is not as arrogant as they are,” said Barnwell, who was one
of the proposal’s most enthusiastic boosters. “I think the
neighbors were correct. There was an arrogance associated with
this.”

Barnwell’s anger stemmed from Cottage’s steadfast refusal to
commit to including solar panels on the condos — or even to look
into the feasibility of solar power — as a condition of approval.
In fact, shortly before last Tuesday’s meeting, the Cottage board
of directors voted to withdraw their application and sell off the
land if the council voted to include any new solar-based
conditions. When notified of the Cottage ultimatum at last
Tuesday’s meeting, Councilmember Das Williams commented, “That’s
some serious hardball.”