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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem A - Hospital OrdinanceEUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Work Session: Remand of Hospital Ordinance No. 20299 Meeting Date: February 9, 2005 Agenda Item Number: A Department: City Attorney Staff Contact: Glenn Klein www. cl. eugene, or. us Contact Telephone Number: 682-5080 ISSUE STATEMENT On October 22, 2003, the City Council adopted Ordinance 20299 which amended provisions of Chapter 9 of the Eugene Code, 1971 with respect to where hospitals and related medical uses can be located. That ordinance was appealed, first to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), which affirmed, and then to the Court of Appeals, which remanded for further action by the City. BACKGROUND The City Council held work sessions in the fall of 2002 and spring of 2003 to discuss and explore opportunities for future hospital siting within the City. At a work session on April 23, 2003, the City Council initiated a code amendment process related to hospital uses and directed that the amendments should be based on changes to individual zones. The Planning Commission considered the changes proposed by staff and in the recommendation it submitted to the council proposed a different approach. On September 8, 2003, the City Council held a public hearing to consider the amendments proposed by staff and the recommendations of the Planning Commission. The City Council directed staff to prepare a revised ordinance consistent with staff recommendations, subject to specific amendments. At its meeting on October 22, 2003, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 20299 that incorporated the specific amendments as directed by the City Council. The council's adoption of Ordinance No. 20299 was intended to accomplish at least two objectives: 1) facilitate the location of a new hospital in the City; and 2) facilitate the expansion and renovation of PeaceHealth's Hilyard campus. The ordinance attempted to accomplish the first objective by making it easier for a hospital to locate in a number of different zones, thereby facilitating the location of a hospital throughout the City. The revision of the definition of"hospital" would ensure equal treatment for a new hospital and the PeaceHealth Hilyard campus, while the changes with respect to commercial zones would facilitate PeaceHealth's expansion of the Hilyard campus. CHOICES appealed the ordinance to LUBA. CHOICES challenged the provisions in the ordinance with respect to amendments to the industrial and residential zones. LUBA rejected the challenges and affirmed the City's action in adopting the ordinance. CHOICES then appealed the LUBA decision to the Court of Appeals. Based on the court's earlier decision in the daqua (Springfield - PeaceHealth) case, the court here held that the changes to allow hospitals as an outright permitted use in some L:\CMO\2005 Council Agendas\M050209\S050209A. doc residential areas were inconsistent with the Metro Plan, as a hospital would not in all cases, constitute an "auxiliary use" to residential uses. The court also held that the changes to allow hospitals an as outright permitted use in industrial areas were inconsistent with the Metro Plan, as a hospital would not, in all cases, "serve a primary industrial use." CHOICES did not challenge before LUBA or the Court of Appeals the ordinance changes to the commercial zones, and the decision of the Court of Appeals did not call into question those changes. Following adoption of Ordinance 20299 and during the appeals process, McKenzie-Willamette Triad chose the EWEB site as its preferred site for location of its hospital facilities. The EWEB site is designated heavy industrial in the Metro Plan and is zoned public land. RELATED CITY POLICIES Adoption of Ordinance 20299 addressed the council's goal to "Prioritize and implement next steps in Growth Management" under the Council Goal of " Sustainable Community Growth and Change - A community that retains a high quality of life and a healthy economy, effectively links land use and transportation planning, and successfully manages growth and change in the urban environment." Policy 3 in Section VI of the Downtown Plan, adopted by Ordinance 20316 in April 2004 (which is also reflected in Section 9.9540 of the Eugene Code, 1971) states that: "A master plan for the EWEB riverfront property must be approved by the city before any redevelopment, land use application, rezoning, Metro Plan or refinement plan diagram amendments are approved for uses not associated with EWEB functions. The master plan shall be evaluated based on the master plan's consistency with principles A through D below: A) Create a 'people place' that is active, vibrant, accessible and multi- use; B)Provide appropriate setbacks, deeper where environmental or habit at issues are more critical, shallower in other areas; C) Incorporate appropriate building and site design techniques that address environmental concerns; and D) Incorporate an educational aspect, so that the riverfront improvements teach us about our river, our history and our city. The master plan shall be considered using the City's Type II application procedures, unless the applicant elects to have the master plan reviewed concurrently with a Type III, Type IV or Type V application." Also relevant to this work session is the following motion adopted by the council on September 18, 2002: "That it shall be the policy of the City of Eugene to encourage hospital uses in the central city to support health care for Eugene citizens and as a method of stimulating economic development and downtown redevelopment. The City Manager shall proceed with appropriate staff work necessary to encourage the development and/or redevelopment of sites for hospital uses in the central city and return to Council in November with options for appropriate siting opportunities and other incentives." COUNCIL OPTIONS In light of (a) the two objectives noted under "Background," and (b) Triad's selection of the EWEB site as its preferred site, there are at least three questions that the remand poses. First, does the council desire to retain the unchallenged ordinance provisions, particularly those related to commercially zoned property, in order to facilitate expansion of PeaceHealth's Hilyard campus and possible use by Triad of the EWEB site? Second, does the council desire to facilitate Triad's use of the EWEB site? And third, is there any reason, at this time, to attempt to retain the provisions in the ordinance (primarily related to industrially and residentially zoned lands) to facilitate location of a new hospital throughout the City? L:\CMO\2005 Council Agendas\M050209\S050209A. doc In responding to the court's remand of the ordinance, the council has at least the following options available to it: 1. Repeal all provisions contained in the ordinance. This option would make PeaceHealth's expansion at the Hilyard campus more difficult, time-consuming and uncertain (at least in the short-term before the council could adopt another framework or set of code amendments related to hospitals). In addition, it also would delay Triad's ability to construct a hospital on the EWEB site and make such a project more difficult and less certain. 2. Re-adopt the provisions of the ordinance related to commercially-zoned properties, and repeal the other provisions of the ordinance related to properties zoned industrial, residential and public land. This option would leave in place the ordinance's provisions which would facilitate PeaceHealth's expansion and renovation at the Hilyard campus. If this option were coupled with a change to the designation and zoning for the EWEB site (Option 3), it would also facilitate Triad's use of the EWEB site for a hospital. 3. In conjunction with Option 2, initiate (a) a change in the designation of the EWEB site from heavy industrial to commercial, and (b) a concurrent rezoning of the site from public lands to a commercial zone. The EWEB site is currently designated in the Metro Plan as heavy industrial, a designation which makes little sense today. 4. Initiate changes to the Metro Plan to explicitly allow hospitals in the residential and industrial designations and then re-adopt the ordinance as is. Such a change would require approval of all three jurisdictions. 5. Amend the ordinance's provisions for industrial and residential lands so that a hospital in those areas would have to show that it is consistent with the Metro Plan. This could be accomplished by allowing a hospital in those areas subject to a Conditional Use Permit, instead of as an outright permitted use. Such changes to the ordinance would comply with the court's ruling, but it is unlikely that the changes, by themselves, would enable Triad to construct a hospital on the EWEB site. 6. Amend the Metro Plan text to include a new category of uses that would cover Special Facilities that could generally address the unique development needs of certain public, semi-public and private uses typically found within urban areas but not necessarily in great number or easily included within the more common land use designations. CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION The City Manager recommends that the council pursue options 2 and 3. 1. Re-adopt the provisions related to commercially-zoned property, and repeal the other provisions related to lands zoned industrial, residential and public land. The provisions of the ordinance related to commercially-zoned property were not challenged by CHOICES and were not called into question by the court's ruling. Re-adoption of those provisions will facilitate PeaceHealth's expansion of its Hilyard campus as hospital uses will then be permitted outright, and it will be able to proceed with L:\CMO\2005 Council Agendas\M050209\S050209A. doc its the planned renovations without the necessity of utilizing conditional use permit procedures. Re- adoption of the provisions related to commercially-zoned properties, and repeal of the provisions related to industrial, residential and public lands can occur quickly and without much cost. 2. Initiate a change to the Metro Plan designation for the EWEB site from heavy industrial to commercial, with a concurrent zone change to commercial. Such changes, if ultimately approved (following public hearing and additional City Council action) coupled with the prior recommendation (readopting the commercial provisions) would facilitate the location of a hospital at the EWEB site. S[IGGESTED MOTION 1. Move to direct the City Manager to bring back to the council an ordinance that readopts the portion of the ordinance related to commercially-zoned properties and repeals the portions of the ordinance related to properties zoned residential, industrial and public lands. 2. Move to initiate an amendment to the Metro Plan to re-designate the EWEB site from heavy industrial to commercial and concurrently rezone the property to commercial. ATTACHMENTS None. FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Glenn Klein Telephone: 682-5080 Staff E-Mail: glenn.klein~harrang, com L:\CMO\2005 Council Agendas\M050209\S050209A. doc