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Page 2 of 3 <br /> St. Mary's Hospital <br /> June 6, 2002 <br /> 3. The petitioner submitted this request prior to the adoption of the new Zoning Ordinance on <br /> May 1 S, 2002. Therefore, this petition is reviewed under the conditions of the 1960 Zoning <br /> Ordinance. This project also includes vacation of South 17th Street and portions of Riverside <br /> and Buena Vista . This is a separate item on the Plan Commission agenda. <br /> PROJECT DESCRIPTION <br /> 4. The petitioner proposes the rezoning of the subject properties to allow the construction of a <br /> 25,000 square foot medical office building and new parking areas containing 408 parking <br /> spaces. Lots on Riverside and Buena Vista have already been cleared in preparation for this <br /> expansion. The proposed structure will be 2 stories high with a partial basement and will be <br /> connected to the existing medical office building on the west side of the hospital. Access to <br /> the proposed project will remain along Riverside and Buena Vista. <br /> 5. The petitioner owns all the lots for which the rezoning petition is filed and wishes to expand <br /> their current medical office facility to enable it to attract and retain qualified medical <br /> practitioners. The hospital expects to have facilities sufficient for 17 physician offices and <br /> their staff. The rezoning action puts all of the property under the O-1 Zoning requirements. <br /> Placing the campus in a Planned Unit Development is consistent with development actions <br /> taken in the Decatur Memorial Hospital neighborhood. <br /> 6. The PUD site plan shows the new medical office building attached to the north and west <br /> sides of the existing office building. The plan shows an expanded parking area,with spaces <br /> and traffic aisles delineated by islands. A pedestrian walkway is shown down the middle of <br /> the parking area. The doctor's parking area and the emergency room parking lot are <br /> segregated from the main parking areas by landscaped islands. <br /> 7. The current parking areas on the west side contain 363 parking spaces. A parking study by <br /> St. Mary's Hospital shows that they have 1,104 parking spaces campus-wide to serve the <br /> entire facility. The parking study showed that,based on the number of beds and the floor <br /> area of the office buildings on the campus, there are currently 446 more parking spaces than <br /> required by the Zoning Ordinance. With the proposed improvements,they will have a total <br /> of 1,171 spaces, yielding a gain of 67 spaces. Since the 25,000 square foot medical office <br /> expansion requires 64 of those spaces,the campus will have an excess of 449 parking spaces <br /> above that required by the Ordinance. This expansion will improve the parking capacity in <br /> key locations, as the visitor's parking areas tend to be full on weekdays. <br /> 8. The petitioner proposes landscaping and fencing to achieve visual separation between the <br /> new development and adjacent residences. Storm water detention and surface run-off will be <br /> accommodated in a proposed 12-inch storm sewer system that will tie in with the existing <br /> 10-inch. <br /> STAFF ANALYSIS <br /> 9. Because the proposed development is an expansion of an existing use, it can be argued that it <br /> is compatible with the character of the surrounding neighborhood and general area. In <br /> addition, the proposed parking lot will improve the parking situation at St. Mary's Hospital. <br />