The Hospital/Neighborhood Committee (HNC) was formed in June of 2010 by then Mayor Bruce Smith. Its charge was to examine the area surrounding the hospital and come to a consensus on a 20-year plan for hospital expansion that would be acceptable to both the hospital and the community. Eleven members were appointed by the mayor with representatives from city government, Oaklawn Hospital, the hospital neighborhood, the Historical Society, and the community-at-large. Meetings are held at the Public Service Building, 2nd floor, at 900 S. Marshall Street and begin at 7:00 pm. The public is invited to attend.
Meeting Dates
March 15, 2011 - Hospital District Overlay concept approved by HNC (see story below)
April 12, 2011
Committee Members
Ken Jendryka (Chairman)
Rob Covert
Dave Deppe
Holly Harden
Nick Metzger
Jim Pardoe
Jennifer Rupp (left committee)
Ginger Williams
John LaPietra (left committee)
Dave Ryan
Mark O’Connell
Above is the Hospital District Overlay (HDO) unanimously adapted by the HNC members who attended the March 15 meeting. An HDO would be a special zoning that would have distinct uses and building parameters that would accommodate hospital needs within the boundaries of this district. The intent of a District Overlay is to create flexibility in zoning that will encourage growth, without taking any current rights or permitted uses from the existing owners. An HDO would allow for the hospital to purchase property (only from willing sellers) within the HDO and be able to use it for uses that had previously been defined when the HDO was established, however it would not cancel the previous zoning rights. For example, the hospital could purchase a residential property and be allowed to use it as a medical office. Should the hospital end up selling that property at a later date, it could immediately revert back to residential without having to seek zoning changes. The properties within the HDO can retain their original zoning or be used for purposes (under certain building restrictions) that are defined for the HDO when it is established.
This HNC footprint is designed to be the potential areas that the hospital would be restricted to for future expansion; however there is no expectation that the hospital would consume these borders as their 20-year projected needs are far smaller than this area. The reason its borders are larger than its needs is because there is nothing that can compel current owners to sell to the hospital, so many of the properties within these borders may never be made available to the hospital. [note: The HNC will address parameters for uses and building restrictions in their next meeting on April 12. Once adapted this entire plan will be recommended to the City Council and they will determine whether to accept, reject, or adjust the proposal. See article below for details of the last HNC meeting.]
Hospital District Overlay concept approved by Hospital/Neighborhood committee
At the March 15 meeting of the Hospital/Neighborhood Committee (HNC), members in attendance unanimously approved the concept of a proposed Hospital District Overlay footprint that would include potential expansion sites into areas around the hospital.
The HNC is a mayor-appointed committee with representation from city government, Oaklawn Hospital, the hospital neighborhood, the Historical Society, and the community at large. Its charge is to bring a recommendation to the City Council that will accommodate a 20-year hospital expansion plan that would be acceptable to both the community and the hospital.
This was the eighth monthly meeting of the HNC and was devoted to receiving a presentation from the Southfield architectural firm of Harley Ellis Devereaux. The City and Hospital co-commissioned the firm to do an in-depth study of the area surrounding the hospital and propose a variety of options that would accommodate the hospital's 20-year projected needs of an additional 130,000 sq.ft. of building [plus 60,000 sq.ft. that can be accommodated through vertical expansion on current foundations] and 442 additional parking spaces. The cost of the study was paid for by the hospital.
After drawing up dozens of options from all directions the architects met with City and Oaklawn officials, along with Ken Jendryka, chairman of the HNC. In making the presentation at the HNC meeting, Harley Ellis Devereaux architect Debra Axelrood explained, “What quickly became clear at our preliminary meeting with the City and Hospital is that all of the dozens of options that we prepared would require the hospital to acquire someone else’s property and since there are no guarantees that any of those acquisitions will occur, the idea was put forth from one of the City officials that we should consider a district overlay. The district overlay outlines the borders that would limit where the hospital would be allowed to expand. It doesn’t mean that the hospital will expand over the entire footprint of the district. That’s far more space than they need. But it gives them much more flexibility to account for the fact that some properties probably won’t be made available to them by current owners.”
Marshall has previously used a district overlay (called the River District Overlay) in an area stretching two blocks either side of Kalamazoo Avenue between the fountain and the Kalamazoo River. The intent of the district is to create flexibility in zoning without taking any current rights or permitted uses away.
The committee still must address what uses would be permissible on hospital acquired property; what types of physical restrictions would be placed on structures; what landscaping requirements, and other pertinent matters. The public is invited to attend all meetings and may communicate with HNC committee chair Ken Jendryka by email (ken@marshallrv.com) or phone (317-9990).
The HNC meetings have included a number of presentations and studies. An economic study produced by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research reported that Oaklawn's economic impact on the Marshall area is over $50 million annually, and with the 20-year projected estimate of 500 additional hospital jobs, the impact would exceed $100 million.
Click here for more info, presentations & materials, etc.