Ground was broken March 12 for a project in the city of Santa Barbara that took just seven months to go through annexation, permitting and planning.

That is practically light speed for a project of any size and we hope it represents a new and more business-friendly approach by a city that’s rarely known for moving quickly to get dirt moving.

But the 60,000-square-foot two-building campus for Sansum Clinic  also demonstrates how picky the city can be about which projects move forward.

Towbes Group, the owner and developer, has had a project for the parcel on Foothill Road near Highway 154 on the drawing boards for 14 years.

A shopping center and residential project failed to pass muster.

The development for Sansum appears to have hit a sweet spot — good-paying jobs, a much-needed surgery suite for the giant clinic and, plenty of parking and no objection from neighbors.

Hopefully there are a few more such opportunities to be discovered.