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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 2003)
RiverBending The Rules PeaceHealth ignites contention over planning for new hospital. By Alan Pittman PeaceHealth draft plan 10 MARCH 27, 2003 PeaceHealth draft design he Springfield City Council will decide Monday, March 31 whether or not to allow PeaceHealth to move its down- town Eugene hospital to a site along the McKenzie River in far north Springfield. “It may be one of the most significant land use decisions that you will make for many years to come,” Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) plan- ner Mark Radabaugh writes in a letter to Springfield. “The proposed amendments cur- rently fall short of compliance with several statewide planning goals,” DLCD warns the city in criticism of proposals to amend city de- velopment rules to accommodate PeaceHealth. “The future livability of the metropolitan area is clearly up for grabs,” says Lauri Segel, of the land use watchdog 1000 Friends of Oregon. But PeaceHealth CEO Alan Yordy urges Springfield to not restrict the hospital’s develop- ment plans. “Flexibility will provide the greatest opportunity for success.” PeaceHealth Development Director Phillip Farrington says PeaceHealth’s proposal to build a 1 million square foot hospital in a field and woods along the river “meets all the criteria for approval.” PeaceHealth’s Portland attorney Steven Pfeiffer, one of the most expensive development lawyers in the state, dismisses DLCD’s con- cerns as not legal requirements but an “ill de- fined set of theories.” An army of PeaceHealth consultants, employees and business associates has buried Springfield planners and councilors in a blizzard of documents and testimony supporting their hos- pital proposal. The public T record for the decision is several feet thick. The Springfield planning staff agree with PeaceHealth that the hospital proposal is legal. The Springfield Planning Commission voted 4- 2 to recommend approval of the hospital site with a 60-ft. height limit. But opponents of the hospital location haven’t given up. “I don’t think it’s a done deal,” says Jan Wilson of the Coalition for Health Options in Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES). “It could go either way.” Wilson says Springfield isn’t legally re- quired to approve RiverBend but is legally re- quired to reject it. The facts make a compelling case against moving the hospital to the edge of town, she says. “The public costs here are enor- mous — besides the loss of river views, costs in- clude the change in character of the area, huge increases in traffic impacting both neighbor- hood residents and existing businesses in the Gateway area, the forced relocation of Springfield’s community hospital, the loss of an opportunity to do real nodal development that could work, and, of course, the hundreds of mil- lions of dollars in new roads that would be needed to support this.” Based on thousands of pages of public records and testimony in the land use decision, here’s a look at the hurdles PeaceHealth faces in building the largest development in local history at RiverBend. ‘Sore Thumb’ PeaceHealth CEO Yordy has balked at the Springfield Planning Commission recommen- dation to limit the height of RiverBend. “We cannot build a world-class facility within a 60- foot height limit,” he says. But critics say a tall hospital would violate state and local planning rules and destroy scenic views of the river and Coburg Hills and the site’s natural setting. “It’s the height of arrogance,” says Sue Wolling, a Sacred Heart intensive care nurse who supports an improved hospital, but not at RiverBend. PeaceHealth hasn’t said exactly how tall it plans to build its riverside hospital. But docu- ments indicate the hospital favors about nine stories at 15 to 20 feet per floor producing a building 135 to 180 feet tall. At that height, RiverBend would be one of the tallest buildings in the entire area. William Carpenter of Springfield says he supports PeaceHealth’s proposal, but not it’s height. The hospital would be one and a half times the height of the tallest UO building (PLC) and stick out even in an urban setting, he says. “This is not an appropriate way to site such a behemoth on the pristine setting of the McKenzie River.” Robin Jaqua, whose family has farmed the area across the river for 50 years, says, “Many of us who live in the area of north Springfield are appalled at PeaceHealth’s desire to have the zoning changed so they can build a high rise and three tremendous parking structures on the banks of the river.” Jaqua says PeaceHealth’s hospital threatens her family’s plans to protect the beauty of the area. She says the Jaquas have written wills to protect the area as farmland and protect 1,200 acres of the hills including Mount Baldy. “This area is to be preserved in its natural state for- ever.” Aaron Helfrich, president of the McKenzie River Guides Association, says the lower McKenzie is a largely undeveloped “gem” full of wildlife and scenery that should be protected. Many locals enjoy the close-by “great day float” from Hayden Bridge to Armitage Park, he says. The stretch “gives the sense of being in the wild. That forever will change with a huge building along the banks.” Former Register-Guard columnist Don Bishoff says he’s one local that doesn’t want to see the area ruined. “I object to the installation of such a huge structure — whether three stories or nine stories tall — at the proposed location and what it will do to the river environment.” “Please don’t sacrifice the beauty of the McKenzie River on the altar of PeaceHealth avarice,” says Gail Campbell of Eugene. “You will open the door to creating another high-rise downtown right at the McKenzie River.” Wilson of CHOICES says Yordy’s claim that he can’t build a less imposing hospital “sim- ply verifies that PeaceHealth has selected the wrong site. High-rise buildings belong in the urban core.” Wilson says it’s ironic PeaceHealth left downtown Eugene after claiming that it could- n’t build a taller hospital on less land. “They wouldn’t do nine stories downtown, but they’ll do a nine story building way out in nowhere’s- ville.” Concern about the scenic riverfront area goes beyond views. Anne Heinsoo of Springfield says the riparian area should be pro- tected for its ecological value. “It should be pro- tected and preserved rather than developed as a major health facility that will snarl traffic and stick out like a sore thumb.”
