The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Mercy zoning change put on hold
Possible traffic that building could cause a concern for residents
Plans are on hold for at least a month for a new medical office building planned by Mercy Regional Medical Center.
The hospital requested a zoning change for 8.19 acres on Oak Point Road on Lorain’s west side. But neighbors said they have concerns about traffic if a medical building sprouts up in their residential area.
As a result, the Lorain Planning Commission held the request in abeyance until the board meets again in October.
Mayor Chase Ritenauer suggested other options, including the hospital altering its request. Mercy asked to change zoning from R-1A Residential to B-2 General Business, but Ritenauer said B1-A Business could be an option for the land.
“Overall, we feel that today’s zoning meeting provided us with an excellent opportunity for open dialogue about our plans to build a medical office center on Oak Point Road,” Mercy Chief Executive Officer Edwin Oley said after
the meeting. “We are optimistic that we will be able to move forward with the project and look forward to providing easy access to high-quality services for the Lorain and Amherst communities.”
The issue is a difficult one, said city Councilman Joshua Thornsberry, who represents Ward 8 where the new building would be.
It is tough to argue against the residents who said the building would
add to heavy car traffic in their neighborhood, and be spot zoning with commercial land in the middle of a residential area, Thornsberry said.
However, it also is difficult for Lorain to turn down a project that could bring up to 75 jobs and more than $6 million in new payroll, which could generate $160,000 a year in payroll taxes for Lorain, Thornsberry said.
The Planning Commission
hearing lasted more than an hour as a contractor described the project and at least nine people spoke about their concerns for the neighborhood.
The Mercy planners designed the building from the perspective of caring for neighbors across the street, said Kim Mulder, president of STAR Design-Build Contractors, who spoke on behalf of the hospital.
“I don’t think anybody would argue that Mercy is an integral part of this community and serves the needs medically,” Mulder said.
The single-story building would sit at least 25 feet off the road and its parking lot, with 151 spaces, would be located behind the offices, Mulder said. A wet retention pond would have fountains and landscaping around it.
Citing a letter from Thornsberry, Mulder acknowledged the disadvantage of spotty zoning mixing residential and commercial uses.
“I would think that as you look at the best of the land, and what is the least impact, and I’ll just say commercially, I would have to think professional medical office building would be the least impact, other than putting another row of houses directly across the street,” Mulder said.
The site plans include three future buildings that would need planning commission approval when they are developed, Mulder said.
But residents who spoke said they were not convinced the land is the right place for an office building.
“I don’t understand why Mercy feels they need this facility there,” said Gary Gross, a South Mayflower Drive resident. “I don’t know why they think they need to go over and put a building into a residential area, it does not fit. As your drawing shows here, there’s houses to the north, to the south, and to the east, to the west. There’s no need to drop a huge medical center into that area.”
Oak Point Road has been a nice place to live and invest in a home, said Jacqueline Graff, whose parents moved to the area in the late 1950s, before the land was inside in the city.
“When you’re going to invest your life savings, the biggest thing you buy is your house, and I don’t think one single person on Oak Point Road built a house to have zoning changed in that area to nonresidential,” Graff said. “I think it’s a disappointment and I think we would be let down if this happened.”
Gross, Jaeger Road resident Denver Casto, who also is a city council candidate, and others suggested other sites for the building. Several people noted Lorain’s west side has developed with a number of medical facilities, but anyone living on the east side or in South Lorain must travel a ways to get to a doctor’s office.
Other possible sites for the office building, could include the hospital’s main campus or the area around Oak Point and Cooper Foster Park roads. Thornsberry noted that intersection is in Amherst, so if Mercy built there, traffic problems likely would continue for nearby residents but Lorain would not get any income tax benefit.