Introduction
From the zoning code and the site plan, it is clear that the most significant issue and the one that would possibly be the most difficult for Community Health, LLC to handle with the zoning board, is the difference between the required number of parking spaces and the proposed number. The code requires 23 parking spaces for a health clinic, but the proposed site plan can only accommodate 22 parking spaces. However, under subtitle two of the code, clause 15-208. Off-street parking – in general, a 75percent reduction in the number of spaces is allowed for uses other than marinas. After careful examination of the proposed site plan and the off-street parking regulations of the zoning code, and a detailed review of the plans and intentions of Community Health LLC, the most significant zoning issues that the proponents of the clinic will have to present and defend before the zoning board are under title fourteen of the code that elaborates on conditional uses. The issues consist of “clause 14-204. Required Findings” and “clause 14-205. Required Considerations.”
Clause 14-204. Required Findings
Under this clause, the code stipulates that the zoning board cannot approve a site for “conditional” or “special exception” use unless some specific findings are established from a public notice and hearing. The findings must demonstrate that the development, maintenance, and operations of the proposed conditional use facility shall not pose any danger to the health, safety, and welfare of the public. It must also be established that the development of the facility is neither subjected to a court case nor is it prohibited by any other law, statute or regulation. The board must be satisfied that by giving the green light for Community Health LLC to go ahead with their expansion plans, it shall not be contradicting the interest of the public and that the authorization conforms to the requirements and parameters set out in the entire zoning code.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The significance of this clause of the zoning code cannot be emphasized enough. It is an issue with the ability to make or break the deal for Community Health LLC due to the critical issues it addresses and the sensitivity with which these issues need to be addressed. The people tasked with representing the company in the hearing sessions should be armed with statistical and factual information to present their ideas and proposals as those that will enhance the welfare of the people living around the facility. As far as public health goes, the representatives should demonstrate that by taking in opioid addicts from the area, the facility would be seeking to improve their lives and get them on track towards establishment and maintenance of healthy and productive lives.
In the matter of public safety and welfare, Community Health LLC should use statistical facts and figures to demonstrate the association between drug addiction and criminal activity. It is common knowledge that drug abuse leads to elevated levels of crime that range from small misdemeanors to indictable-only felonies. By treating these addicts, the health facility would be freeing the streets of criminals and ameliorating the security condition in the area (Gossop et al. 2000). When developing the proposed site plan, Community Health must have sought approvals from all the necessary authorities. These authorities may include accredited environmental management and protection bodies, engineering and architectural standards setting and enforcement authorities and other professional bodies that are involved in the setting of standards and criteria that provide a roadmap for the construction, operability, and maintenance of hospital facilities. The representatives going before the zoning board must provide the certificates or other documents of approval during the hearings. They must also demonstrate the Community Health LLC’s plans for expansion and consolidation are not in entangled in a legal tussle of any kind.
Clause 14-205. Required Considerations
Under this clause, the code stipulates that the board will consider aspects of the projected site, its size and shape once the projections have been implemented and the layout of buildings and other structures. The board must also consider the effects that the proposed site will have on traffic patterns and the sufficiency of the proposed off-street parking and loading spaces. The zoning board will factor in the possible implications that implementing the projected plan will have on the surrounding areas regarding present and future development initiatives. Another important aspect that must be considered, according to the zoning code, is the propinquity of the proposed site to the public use facilities within the area. These facilities include, among others, schools, churches, and public halls. The board will look at how accessible the proposed facility will be from the police station and fire department.
Another critical consideration that the board must pay special attention to, in agreement with the zoning code, is how the proposed facility will affect the circulation of natural light and air, both within the facility itself and the buildings that are located in its vicinity. The code directs that the board looks into the type and position of access roads, drainage systems and other utility features that will be included in the construction of the proposed site. Other significant aspects that must be considered include; the conservation and protection of historic and cultural landmark buildings and structures, the provisions of the city’s master plan and any other applicable urban renewal plan.
When these considerations are being made, Community Health must provide concrete proof to convince the zoning board that their plan is above par in all of them. They should provide the accurate architectural drawings and writings detailing the sizes, specifications, and locations of every proposed building within the facility (Pressman, 2007). As far as traffic patterns go, representatives of Community Health should demonstrate that the will not require any modifications to the traffic setup of the place as the staff and patients will make use of the already existing public bus routes. The hospital should formulate an effective mechanism that will facilitate the optimal management of the available parking spaces and present it to the board.
For a hospital, there is need to be as much circulation of air as possible. The architectural designs must accommodate ample ventilation and a lot of plant life which purifies the air. The designs must also allow for the use of natural lighting during the day (Council, 2007). The representatives will be required to prove to the board that the buildings and structures will implement the necessary insulation measures to control and avoid noise pollution. They should convince the board that even though their immediate neighbors are commercial businesses and a gas station, they still intend to keep the noise coming from their facility at a bare minimum. Hospitals are known to act as shelters in times of natural and human-made disasters; Community Health LLC should point out that their doors will always be open to the public in case of such emergencies and as such, it should be considered a good thing that the facility is located in this community.
The representatives going before the board will need to present detailed plans of the proposed facilities drainage and sewerage systems and the points at which these systems shall connect to the areas main sewer and drainage lines. In the issue of access roads, the clinic should have an access road for use during emergencies and for when the police and fire department need to get into the place in a fast and interrupted manner. Apart from these measures, the hospital should provide evidence that it will implement safety and security features such as emergency and fire exits in the proposed renovated and consolidated buildings. The city’s master plan is among the first things that anyone who wants to carry out any form of construction in a public area considers. Community Health LLC must demonstrate to the zoning board that they have the approvals from the departments of the local government in charge of the master plan and the urban renewal plan.
Opposition from Neighbors and the NIMBY Civic Association (NCA)
Construction and developments in public places are often met with considerable and forceful opposition, mostly from the neighboring establishments surrounding the proposed construction sites. It is no different in the case of Community Health LLC and its expansion plans. The NCA has categorically stated that it does not want rehabilitation facility in the area but community health countered by expressing the need for one, given the high rate of addiction in the area and the fact that a similar clinic in the area closed down in the recent past, creating a vacuum in a situation where provision of these healthcare services was apparently necessary. It is expected that the NCA and the neighboring business establishments will still raise opposition to the proposed development. It is most likely that theses opponents will use the provisions of the zoning code found under clause 15-219. Other Required Findings.
Using this clause, the opponents might argue that allowing the hospital to consolidate the two separate buildings into one building will deleterious to the access and use of the other properties in the area and that the development will affect the value of land and property in the community, most probably resulting in unfairly high prices. The opponents might try to discredit the proposed development by claiming that by consolidating building #204 and #202, Community Health LLC shall be compromising sufficient supply and circulation of light and air to the neighboring properties, business establishments and the residential block at the rear of the fourteen space parking lot. They will argue that the expansion shall congest the land and facilitate the excessive increase of people in this community (Sittig, 2013). To augment the population factor, the opponents can add that since the facility is a public entity, people from without the state can be incentivized to come and reside in this area as they seek treatment and rehabilitation services from the hospital.
Since the expansion will lead to enhanced and improved capacity, it is likely that the hospital will be busy with many people coming in and getting out from it all the time. The opponents may argue that this aspect will create overwhelming congestion in the streets and cause huge disruptions in the area’s traffic patterns. They will reason that these disruptions will set back the transportation and movement of people to and from the businesses that are situated around the clinic facility (Sittig, 2013). The opponents might also bring in the aspect of a stressed and clogged water and sewer system that will result from the proposed expansion. They can also claim that since the consolidation of the two buildings will change the entire landscape of the area, it will adversely affect the city’ master plan and the urban renewal plan. The neighbors and the NCA will most probably raise the issue of safety and security by arguing that rehabilitation of addicts does not always work and that people who give up on the treatment process can always go back to the streets and involve themselves in criminal activities.
It is unlikely that the zoning board will deny approval to Community Health LLC even after listening to the reasons and arguments from the opponents of the proposed project. If the representatives of the hospital adduce the necessary evidence, documentation, facts and figures to convince the board that they have and will meet all the requirements of the zoning code, then there should be no reason to deny them the opportunity to expand and do some good in a community that apparently and evidently requires the help.
References
Council, U. G. B. (2007). LEED for new construction . US Green Building Council.
Gossop, M., Marsden, J., Stewart, D., & Rolfe, A. (2000). Reductions in acquisitive crime and drug use after treatment of addiction problems: 1-year follow-up outcomes. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 58 (1), 165-172.
Pressman, A. (2007). Architectural graphic standards . John Wiley & Sons.
Sittig, D. (2013). Public Participation in Urban Planning . Urban and environmental Policy.
