Valley Expansion Won't Damage Neighborhood, Expert Testifies

A Valley Hospital engineer told the planning board that the revised expansion proposal would not geologically impact surrounding homes, a major concern residents and officials held during the previous failed expansion proposal.

Moustafa Gouda – a geotechnical, hydrological and environmental engineer who has worked on hospital expansions – testified April 16 that the gravel and sand-based soil surrounding the hospital is dense enough to support an expansion that would see Valley's floor space expand more than 60 percent, with buildings reaching 94 feet in height.

The Ridgewood Village Council voted unanimously in November of 2011 to kill the previous plan, dubbed "Renewal," citing potential damage to infrastructure and surrounding homes as a major factor in its decision.

According to Gouda's presentation, excavation and dewatering efforts have been scaled down considerably with the new plan. 

He testified that 120,000 cubic yards of soil will need to be excavated, whereas the prior plan called for 331,000 cubic yards of soil to be excavated. Less than 200 cubic yards of rock will need to be hauled off site, near the North Building and the parking garage. Futher, the amount of truck loads to carry away debris will drop from 22,000 to about 8,000, he said.

Gouda testified that vibration and noise during excavation would be kept to minimum, as the hospital has sensitive equipment like MRI machines, CAT scan machines, and brain surgeons.

"I have to be very careful with vibrations," he said. "And we will use appropriate methods, as I said, that controls noise and vibration and we can establish criteria that is acceptable to the most sensitive machine in the hospital."

Steilen Avenue resident George Wolfson said previous expansions have impacted residents, and he was concerned it would again if the plan is approved.

"I remember the fact that it was causing all kinds of dust and dirt and vibration," Wolfson said. "That's what we're talking about here, this is dirt, dust and vibration."

Gouda said new technologies would mitigate Wolfson's concerns, and said "none of our work will affect your buildings."

A total of 300,000 gallons of water may need to be pumped using a system of wells and pumps strategically placed around Valley property. The water could all be passed through the village's storm water and sanitary water systems, Gouda testified. The previous plan called for as much as 570,000 gallons to be pumped for a period of six months.

Watering would be required at the Central Plant portion of the North building and possibly at the overall building, he said.

Skepticism on the part of the audience, particularly on dewatering, was high.

Other residents expressed concern the dewatering efforts could flood their homes if water levels rose during the de-watering process.

"So let's say that we go through another peak of those, after the construction, would that peak now under my house be elevated because the construction is where water used to go?" asked Meadowbrook Avenue resident George King.

Gouda said the hospital's impact on the water table would be like dropping a "penny in a bathtub," and King's property would be unscathed by any construction work.

Testimony will continue on April 29 and April 30. The planning board is expected to vote by July 1 on whether the proposal should reach the village council for a final vote.