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EIS Community Conversation #1, Oct. 20, 2005
On Oct. 20, Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital held the first of three scheduled Community Conversations with the public. About 20 neighbors came to the 7 p.m. meeting at Franklin Middle School Commons to help "reality test" Memorial's Campus Master Plan, a plan for how the campus property may be developed over the next 25 to 30 years.
Jim Aberle, vice president of Memorial overseeing the Campus Master Plan, led the meeting. Former Memorial Board of Trustee chairs Bill Wheeler and Stan Martinkus provided background.
The Oct. 20 Community Conversation included a presentation on the overall process for the Environmental Impact Statement, land use, earth, recreation and public services impacts with Terry McCann and Amy Harrison Keenan, of Huckell/Weinmann Associates. Doug Kuhn of PLSA Engineering and Surveying discussed water, storm drainage and utilities impacts based on the plan. The consultants are independent experts hired by Memorial to address environmental issues defined by the City. The City will issue the formal draft EIS for review and the final EIS once the review is completed.
They explained the EIS process and presented a diagram showing what's next in the process. They used this aerial photo, this map of the campus boundary, set in 1995, and this map showing the most development that could occur on the campus in the next 25 to 30 years. People's comments can be read here and questions here.
McCann presented the overall plan, which envisions four phases of development over the next 30 to 40 years totaling 571,000 additional square feet of space with a net increase of 1,900 parking spaces. The plan examines the most development that could take place in that time to meet the growing medical needs of the Yakima community. Currently, the hospital has nearly 400,000 square feet with parking for 1,400 vehicles.
Area neighbors asked a variety of questions and made comments for the technical experts and hospital staff. Many focused on the Memorial Board of Trustees' policy, which has the goal to limit growth on the main campus to services needed for patient safety or that support hospital care. Other questions were asked about the need of a comprehensive plan amendment to meet the future needs of the hospital. Participants questioned why City representatives did not attend, and they asked Memorial to invite them to further Community Conversations.
Information about the Community Conversations is available at www.yakimamemorialhospital.org, or by contacting the Community Voice phone line at 509 575.8820 or sending an email to communityvoice@yvmh.org.
