If Stormont-Vail Health follows through on a plan relayed to Newman Regional Health administrators to build an ambulatory surgical center in Emporia, the process will need a Conditional Use Permit — but proposed changes to the process offered by Newman Regional Health would add to the guidelines currently on the books.
City Zoning and Planning Administrator Justin Givens says the current process involves as many as 12 steps, depending on the planned property use. Taking from current Emporia city code:
9.5.4 Factors to be Considered in an Application for a Conditional Use Permit: Because of particular conditions associated with their activities, certain uses which might have an adverse effect upon nearby properties or upon the character and future development of an area are not permitted outright in all Parcel Types, but are permitted as conditional uses when their proposed location is supplemented by additional requirements so as to make the use requested compatible with the surrounding property, the neighborhood and the City. In approving a conditional use, the minimum requirements set out in these regulations for the underlying Parcel Type must be met unless otherwise reduced by specific reference in the approval of the Governing Body. The requirements may be made more stringent if there are potentially injurious effects which may be anticipated upon other property or the neighborhood or which may be contrary to public health, safety or welfare. The Planning Commission may recommend approval of a conditional use that is expressly authorized to be permitted in a particular Parcel Type, and the Governing Body may approve such conditional use, using the following factors as guidelines:
a. Whether approval of the conditional use would be consistent with the intent and purpose of these regulations;
b. Whether the location of the proposed use is compatible to other land uses in the surrounding neighborhood;
c. Whether the proposed use places an undue burden on the existing transportation and service facilities in the area affected and, if so, whether such additional transportation and service facilities can be provided;
d. Whether the proposed use is made necessary or desirable because of changed or changing conditions in the area affected;
e. The length of time the subject property has remained vacant or undeveloped as zoned; (the use of land for agricultural purposes shall be considered as viable use of the land and not be considered as allowing the land to be vacant or undeveloped);
f. Whether the applicant’s property is suitable for the proposed conditional use;
g. The recommendations of professional staff;
h. Whether the proposed conditional use would be in conformance to and further enhance the implementation of the Plan ELC;
i. Whether the relative gain to the public health, safety, and general welfare outweighs the hardship imposed on the applicant by not upgrading the value of the property by approving the proposed conditional use;
j. Whether the proposed conditional use, if it complies with all the conditions upon which the approval is made contingent, will not adversely affect the property in the area affected;
k. For uses such as solid waste disposal facilities, including sanitary landfills, construction and demolition landfills and transfer stations, whether the proposed conditional use is consistent with the adopted Solid Waste Management Plan of Lyon County, and amendments thereto; and
l. Such other factors as may be relevant from the facts and evidence presented in the application.
Newman Regional Health’s proposal would request certain medical facilities, including an ambulatory surgery center, to go through the Conditional Use Permit process — but it would also mandate prospective facility owners to detail the nature and extent of services, the extent of like services already being provided and how current services are inadequate for community need. Should the Planning Commission or City Commission deem the prospective services as “unduly duplicative” to what is already being offered, they would be obligated to deny the conditional use permit request.
The hospital is making the request, saying it stands to lose up to $7 million per year if services already offered by Newman Regional Health are duplicated by Stormont-Vail, including cardiology, a cath lab, gastrointestinal lab, endoscopy and orthopedics procedures. Stormont-Vail says a new facility makes sense because it has outgrown its current leased space in Emporia — and it says the zoning adjustments as proposed by Newman Regional Health would hamper its options for expanding healthcare services in Emporia.
Givens says Stormont-Vail has not filed any paperwork, Conditional Use Permit or otherwise, for any new facility in Emporia as of mid-morning Wednesday.
A public hearing on Newman Regional Health’s proposed zoning code adjustments is coming at 6 pm Nov. 21 at the Municipal Court Room.
