Dear Friends and Neighbors:
Welcome to the latest edition of my Naples City Council newsletter. In this issue, I want to talk about the Naples Community Hospital (NCH) proposed Heart, Stroke, and Vascular Institute, which many of you have been hearing about.
There have been a number of misconceptions about this project, both as to its substance and the process for approval. I hope the facts provided below help set the record straight and provide residents with the information they need to better understand it.
And remember that you that you can visit my website at http://raychristman.com/, to view any of my newsletters, past and current, as well as other information of interest on city business. Now for the NCH project. Here is a short summary of what has happened over the past nine months and where we are today, as told through seven short questions (and answers):
1. What is this project and why is it being proposed?
NCH is creating a new Heart, Stroke, and Vascular Institute and wishes to house it at a new building on its downtown Naples campus. The new building would replace the existing Telford Building.
NCH is taking this action to grow its capacity to treat coronary and related diseases and remain competitive in the regional health care market. NCH believes that locating the Institute on its downtown campus will maximize patient access for the market it serves.
2. Why does NCH need City Council approval to proceed?
Moving forward on this project will actually require two sets of approval from City Council, which must occur sequentially. First, there needs to be a rezoning for the proposed site, since the proposed building will exceed the current zoning height limit for the site, which is 30 feet. The current zoning is designated “Medical”. The proposed building also would exceed the city charter height amendment limit for commercial buildings, which is 42 feet.
Second, if and when the site is rezoned to accommodate the proposed Heart Institute building, NCH must then come forward with a specific plan for the structure it wishes to build, including a site plan, traffic analysis, how they will meet parking needs, and the like.
3. How big will this new building be, anyway?
We don’t know for sure, and we won’t know until we see a specific proposal from NCH. And that won’t be forthcoming until they know the site in question can be rezoned to potentially allow the Heart Institute to be built. What we do know is that the conceptual proposal for the building has evolved considerably since first proposed last October. Originally, NCH talked about a six-story building approximately 110 feet in height. Most recently, in May, the building has been described by NCH as five-stories totaling 75 feet in height.
4. Does the community support this project?
There are no polls or surveys to answer that question. But my own analysis, based on emails, phone calls and conversations with hundreds of residents – and input from homeowner associations – is that this project is supported more broadly than any other initiative I can remember in Naples’ recent history. Access to quality health care is a priority in any community and perhaps particularly so in a place like Naples with our age demographics.
When a survey of city residents was conducted in 2019 for a new city Vision Plan, access to quality health care scored higher than any other issue, even higher than protecting our water quality and beaches or maintaining our small-town charm and character.
5. How would the rezoning take place to allow the project to proceed?
Originally, there were two paths that might allow this to occur. NCH initially proposed creating a” hospital” zoning district, which was then permitted under the city height ordinance as an exemption to the 42-foot limit. The other path was to create a “Public Service” zoning district that might permit a hospital building in excess of 42 feet. On May 31, Council voted by 4-3 margin to eliminate the first option by removing hospitals as an activity that are exempt from the charter height amendment. So now the only apparent option is the Public Service District designation.
6. Why did Council remove the hospital exemption from the height ordinance?
As I said, this was a closely divided vote. I was joined by Councilors Blankenship and Perry in voting against this action while Mayor Heitmann, Vice Mayor McCabe, and Councilors Hutchison and Petrunoff voted for it.
Like most if not all of my colleagues, I prefer using the Public Service Zoning District as a way to permit this building to be constructed in excess of the charter height limit. But we don’t know yet whether that approach will work from a practical or legal standpoint. My reasoning was that it was premature to eliminate the Hospital District alternative until we know whether the Public Service District option was indeed viable.
This discussion will not come back to Council until after we return from summer recess in mid-August. In my view, there was no reason to rush this action. Moreover, we heard from six major homeowner associations (HOAs), that together represent well more than half of the city’s residents, request that we delay action on removing the Hospital District option until we had certainty that another path was possible.
My view is that we need to listen to our residents, not some of the time but all of the time.
7. So where does this stand now and what should we be concerned about going forward?
From a process standpoint, the city’s Planning Advisory Board (PAB), which makes recommendations to City Council on land use and zoning matters, will meet on June 10 to consider whether and how the proposed rezoning could occur using the Public Service District vehicle. This recommendation will be part of the public record that City Council considers in determining to take any action on this matter.
One important question to be asked as part of any rezoning action will be the following: How big an area is proposed for the rezoning? Will NCH propose including just the footprint for the new building…..or will it propose to include a larger area encompassing the adjoining surface parking lot and/or other parts of their downtown campus?
If a bigger area is to be rezoned, it could then allow other larger and taller buildings to be constructed on the hospital campus in the future for purposes yet to be determined. I would have serious concerns about providing that broader entitlement.
But back to the current NCH Heart Institute proposal, if a rezoning is approved by City Council, NCH would then need to bring forward its specific Heart Institute building proposal to the PAB and Council. At that time, questions can be raised regarding the size and mass of the building, parking, traffic impact, landscaping, lighting, and other issues. The public will have the opportunity to engage in this process.
I anticipate these discussions and potential actions occurring prior to the end of calendar year 2022.
I hope you found this summary of the NCH Heart Institute proposal helpful. If you have questions or comments on this or other issues, please contact me at my City Council email, rchristman@naplesgov.com. And continue to visit my website where you can access all my newsletters and other communications.
Thanks as always for your concern and caring for our great community.
Ray Christman