Planners Vote Yes On New Hospital

Supervisors Have Final Say

By Christopher Twarowski

Originally published at 1:25 p.m., November 25, 2008
Updated at 6:56 p.m., November 29, 2008

The Loudoun County Planning Commission has narrowly recommended approval of HCA Virginia's plan to build a 164-bed hospital in Broadlands. The final decision rests with the Board of Supervisors.

In a 5 to 4 vote following a tense discussion that lasted about three hours, the commission recommended Monday that HCA be permitted to construct a 24-hour acute-care hospital, the Broadlands Regional Medical Center, on 57.7 acres at Dulles Greenway and Route 659.

Supervisors will weigh HCA's application for a zoning special exception at a Jan. 14 meeting to be headed by Supervisor Kelly Burk (D-Leesburg).

A similar proposal by HCA was rejected by Board of Supervisors members in 2005.

"The Planning Commission has confirmed not only that our applications meet the relevant standards, but, in a larger sense, that building BRMC in Ashburn is consistent with Loudoun's land use policies," Margaret Lewis, president of HCA's capital division, said in a statement after the commission vote. "This action represents a key endorsement by the leadership body charged with evaluating all of the significant development projects in the county. We are pleased that this action brings Loudoun County residents one step closer to much-needed additional health-care services."

The planning commissioners voting against the proposal were Robert Klancher (Broad Run), x Helena Syska (Sterling), Chris Brodrick (Potomac) and Gigi Robinson (Leesburg). The decision followed a 5 to 4 vote against Syska's motion to send the application to a Planning Commission work session for further discussion.

"The county's Comprehensive Plan calls for the next major . . . hospital to be located in the southern portion of the county along Route 50," Klancher said in an interview, explaining his vote against the project. "I felt that while HCA is certainly an excellent organization, and I think the design of their facility is excellent, its location in Broadlands did not fit . . . and the next hospital should be more appropriately located on Route 50 in a manner consistent with our revised general plan."

Commission Vice Chairman Peggy Maio (Blue Ridge), who voted in favor of the project, said she thought HCA had chosen the right location.

"I carefully considered the Comprehensive Plan and all the other information that was given to us by the citizens [and] by Inova [Loudoun] Hospital, and decided that Broadlands is an appropriate place for a hospital," Maio said.

"There were sufficient mitigations for the concerns of the neighborhood," she said. "The application was substantially changed from when it was before the county previously."

The decision came four days after a joint public hearing before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors, at which more than 100 residents voiced strong opinions about the project.

Supporters emphasized the 600 jobs and $4 million in annual tax revenue that the Broadlands facility is expected to bring, and cited the county's need for more hospital beds and the benefits of health-care competition. They also noted $11 million to $15 million in transportation improvements that HCA has promised to deliver to lessen the hospital's effects on traffic.

Opponents said that the project does not fit the county's health facilities plan and that the public would be better served if HCA built the hospital along Route 50 in the Dulles South area. They also said that the facility would hurt Inova Loudoun Hospital, which is about five miles from HCA's proposed site, and that the Broadlands hospital would generate noise and traffic.

The Planning Commission was required to attend the Nov. 20 session because of an error made by the county in its legal advertisement of a previous hearing.

Commission Chairman Christeen Tolle (At Large) said the panel had four work sessions and two public input hearings on HCA's proposal and had ample time to weigh all sides.

"This is something that's really been on our plates for the last two months," Tolle said. "And the majority of the commission felt like after four work sessions and hours and hours of discussion, they really felt that there was really nothing more that would be brought up at a future work session that had not already been covered."

Tolle said she complimented commissioners at the end of Monday's work session on what had been a lengthy and at times spirited process.

"We've had split votes and we disagreed, but I really am proud of the way we've handled our discussions and moved forward," she said.

Supervisors are free to conduct individual inquiries about the HCA proposal before the board's Jan. 14 meeting, said Supervisor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles), whose jurisdiction includes the proposed site in Broadlands. Miller said he has met with HCA representatives recently and expects to do so again before Jan. 14.

Supervisors have until May 20 to make a final decision on the hospital.

Tagged: Broadlands, growth, health, hospital, Inova Loudoun Hospital, Loudoun Planning Commission

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