St. Luke’s prepares for public hearing before commissioners

Site development for the new St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center is underway.

The public was invited to review the architectural plans last week as glossy renderings of the hospital and its floor plan were mailed to each post office box in the Wood River Valley.

St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center of Boise will build the new local hospital in Cold Springs, just south of Ketchum, as part of a takeover agreement with Wood River Medical Center. St. Luke’s plans to open the facility in the fall of 2000. Total cost for the two-story, 83,000-square-foot hospital is $27 million.

Wood River Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Jon Moses said the number-one goal of St. Luke’s when sending out the mailers was to inform and communicate plans for the hospital with residents.

"This is an important step," Moses said. "We want people to have the opportunity to see the plans so they are better able to comment throughout the public approval process."

According to Blaine County zoning administrator Deborah Vignes, St. Luke’s has received two permits, first to reroute Cold Springs Canyon Road in the mountain overlay district, a hillside area where buildings are restricted, and second to relocate the wetlands on the property. Currently both are being relocated, along with the Wood River Trail System.

Construction to level the site, using 2,700-truck loads of dirt, will take place through the next three to four weeks, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on business days only, and may cause traffic delays, said Tracy Jameson of St. Luke’s.

Vignes said construction of the hospital is contingent upon obtaining two more permits, a conditional-use permit granted by the Blaine County Commissioners and a building permit granted by the Blaine County Building Department.

"We expect the CUP to be filed immediately--that’s still a big step that needs to be taken," said Vignes.

The conditional use permit will address the hospital’s structure, and all other improvements made to the site.

"It’s very comprehensive in nature," she said. "It includes nine objective standards for evaluation."

Although the conditional use permit doesn’t include a formal design review, the third objective standard provides a mechanism to do so.

It states, "[The building] will be designed, constructed, operated and maintained to be harmonious and appropriate in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity and that such use will not change the essential character of the same area."

Vignes explained that the hospital is being built in a recreation development zone, which sets forth no building standards such as setback requirements or a limit on building height.

"The district is very unique in that sense," she said.

The commission is able to require changes on such elements of the facility such as windows, building height, lighting, color, and landscaping, but must relate its conditions back to the third standard.

The building department will review the hospital’s structure with the help of the International Conference of Building Officers.

Although the hospital site sits within the city of Ketchum’s zone of impact, Vignes said Ketchum’s role in the approval process will be no greater than the public’s.

"I’m sure they will be present at the public hearing for the conditional use permit," she said.

Vignes said the county is investigating a possible agreement between Ketchum and the county if St. Luke’s applies for a rezone of the McHanville area next to the hospital site to allow for medical office buildings and medical retail in the area.

Ketchum Mayor Guy Coles said the city was supportive of the county’s decisions, and the construction of the future hospital at its chosen site.

Coles’ only concern was cost.

"I just hope it stays affordable for us locals, and the hospital doesn’t cater to the traveling public," he said.