New hospital sparks four hours of debate

The Blaine County Planning and Zoning Commission last week began to grapple with the issues involved in deciding whether to grant St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center a conditional-use permit to build a hospital at Cold Springs south of Ketchum.

Little was resolved at Thursday’s standing-room-only hearing at the old County Courthouse in Hailey. Commissioners heard pleas from nearby residents to move carefully on their decision and from members of the local medical community to allow construction to proceed as quickly as possible.

"It is imperative that we don’t rush into this one," said homeowner Steve Cook. "This is a critical and unique issue. We’re not talking about a hospital in Boise. It’s in a rural setting. We must use this as an opportunity to rise to the challenge and do it right."

A statement endorsed by members of the medical community and read to the commission contended that the need for the new hospital is urgent, that the project was supported by the public, and that it is important to keep the project moving on schedule for its projected December 2000 opening date.

After four hours of debate, the commission voted to continue discussion on the application until Dec. 17.

In May 1996, Blaine County voters approved a ballot proposition authorizing the county and city of Sun Valley to turn over their hospital assets to St. Luke’s for the purpose of constructing the new facility. It would replace the county’s two existing hospitals in Sun Valley and Hailey.

St. Luke’s has already done considerable work at the site moving wetlands, leveling the ground and building roads.

The site is in the county’s Recreational Development zone. In July, the county added "Public utility facilities," which include hospitals, as a conditional use in that district.

The commission could theoretically deny St. Luke’s the permit and permission to build the hospital. However, given the county’s investment in the process so far, that is unlikely.

The real question is how significant will be the conditions imposed on the design of the site and the facility.

Issues the commission will consider include the building’s design, lighting and signs, as well as its impact on water and sewers, roads and transportation, its neighbors and public access to nearby trails.

State law requires that conditional uses be permitted only when in conformance with a county’s comprehensive plan. The Blaine County Comprehensive Plan recognizes that construction of new public facilities is inevitable, but that they must be built so as to consider impacts on the surrounding area and to be in conformance with zoning restrictions.

At Thursday’s meeting, St. Luke’s architects and landscape engineers attempted to persuade commissioners that their proposal complies with the comprehensive plan’s directive that the facility preserve the rural atmosphere of the area.

Local architect Jim McLaughlin, who has been hired by St. Luke’s, said the facility would not look like a typical institution. He said the building would be broken into wings to create sloped roofs and to incorporate the traditional beam elements found throughout the valley.

St. Luke’s vice president Bill Bodnar said the facility is designed to accommodate projected growth up until the year 2030, but that plans would incorporate options for expansion.

Both commissioners and members of the public expressed concerns about preservation of the night sky and the potential for light pollution produced by the facility’s outdoor lights. Mike Drake, an electrical engineer with Power Engineers, said the lighting design was developed with regard to neighbors by reducing the amount of light extending beyond the site.

Concerns over back lighting of the St. Luke’s cross logo were also brought up by homeowners in the area. Jeff Hull, St. Luke’s director of architecture and construction, responded that "the cross reflects our Episcopalian roots and is a very important feature of St. Luke’s."

In its only action of the evening, the commission eventually voted to approve St. Luke’s lighting plan. P& Z member Tom Bowman proposed finding that the lighting system was acceptable.

P&Z administrator Deborah Vignes said her impression was that the commission concluded it would accept the lighting plan as submitted, provided it was installed as proposed.

The back-lit cross will be part of further review of signs at the hospital site.

Safety considerations and the potential noise of a proposed onsite heli-pad were also raised by homeowners and the commission. However, Jan Rosenquist, emergency room director at the Wood River Medical in Sun Valley, mollified those concerns by describing the life-saving importance of the on-site heli-pad in reducing transport time for critically injured patients.

With the conclusion of public comment, the commission tackled the issue of building height, including its potential for encroachment on the view corridor to the west.

St. Luke’s proposes to build a 47-foot-tall hospital. There are no height standards listed for the Recreational Development district. However, as a point of comparison to the proposal, residential structures in Blaine County are limited to 35 feet high and structures within commercial and industrial zones are limited to 40 feet.

Commissioner Tom Bowman questioned the perspective of the building height and if it would encroach on the view of the cliffs seen from Highway 75.

Commissioner Joel Graff countered by saying building height was not an important question.

Chairwoman Cindy Mann responded to the debate by saying the proposed St. Luke’s facility represents a "precedent-setting building in Blaine County" and that building height is important.

As the room emptied and everyone went home, the P&Z members showed the stress of dealing with the backlog of subdivision applications resulting from the from the moratorium on subdivision development in the county. Mann said to the other commissioners, "Let’s come to these meetings prepared as possible as we can—we need to make sure we’re all on the same page about what we want to do."