UPDATED: Details of "H-Zone" Ordinance Now Available to Public

The planning board had intended to send the –which legally codifies the to allow Valley Hospital to amend village zoning, thereby doubling the size of its hospital in a modernization effort should the council say 'yay'–up to the council long ago. For various reasons, including by opposition group Concerned Residents of Ridgewood, the process had stalled. But wait no more.

[Editor's Note: If you're interested in reading the full version of the document, it's available to the right of the text.]

On Tuesday night, the planning board unanimously approved to move the "H-Zone" (with Kevin Reilly absent; Morgan Hurley and the two council members Mayor Keith Killion and Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh abstaining) to the village council, a move that had been expected last month.

The document not only provides changes to the hospital area–which opponents of the prospective project claim will damage the character of the village, as well as possibly provide harm to children of the nearby schools, while increasing traffic and damaging property values to those near the hospital–but also makes larger changes beyond the zone, in the way of prescribing standards for green roofs, construction material type and other items.

The hospital-based ordinance includes largely the plan the planning board passed in June–2,000 parking spaces; buildings to be 70 feet in height with a maximum of mechanical rooftop equipment reaching 24 feet; setbacks throughout the H-Zone clearly defined; and that no more than 454 beds that can be added. There is also a provision to allow for flexibility, whereby the hospital could reduce intensity of use in one area (say, parking) to increase it in another area.

Planning board attorney Gail Price said that a vote for the document was not based on whether members were or were not members of the proceedings that led to the initial June vote. Instead, Price said, this was based solely on the ordinance as drafted as Brancheau.

"If in fact the council takes official action and it comes back here . . . you're not acting for or against [the amendment]. You're only voting on the ordinance itself," she said of the Tuesday night vote.

The CRR in a statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting, said the group was looking forward to having the council look at the ordinance.

"We look forward to a fair and thorough examination of the draft ordinance by Village Council," CRR President Pete McKenna said.

"We are hopeful that the council will put a priority on appropriate land use, historical precedents at this site and what's really right for Ridgewood. The ordinance is critical as it could allow the hospital to double in size, to over 1.1 million square feet, next to a school and in the midst of a residential community."

"The Council must now consider if this ordinance reverses the long history of land use standards in Ridgewood that maintain the residential character of the village," standards the group have said would be compromised should the council grant the application.

A group of residents supporting the proposed expansion, Ridgewood Residents for Valley, shared similar sentiments, but seemed to object to the CRR's point that the years of study were not thorough.

"We are pleased that the board has moved the plan forward. It is the product of meticulous study after solicitation of all opinions in the Village," group president Gene Cornell said in a statement to Patch on Wednesday afternoon.

"It is a good plan and we look forward to the council's speedy consideration of it."

Megan Fraser, spokesperson for Valley, issued a statement on Thursday morning, saying the hospital also looked forward to council action.

"We look forward to the Council reviewing the ordinance and to having our supporters, Ridgewood Residents for Valley, demonstrate to Council members the widespread support Valley has for its plans."

Brancheau said that the document is available for public viewing, as it is no longer a draft. Those interested in seeing the draft can go to the planning board's office on the third floor of Village Hall. It's not entirely clear when the council will start analyzing the ordinance.