By VICKI URBANIK

Community Health Systems on Tuesday won the rezoning needed for it to relocate Porter hospital in Valparaiso to unincorporated Liberty Township at Ind. 49 and U.S. 6.

With a 2-1 vote, the Porter County Commissioners approved the rezoning, from Residential-1 to Institutional, with the same conditions as endorsed by the county plan commission, namely, that the zoning on the 104 acres would convert to residential if the hospital isn’t built there and that the hospital development should be as environmentally green as possible.

The commissioners also made it clear that they oppose the hospital’s current plans for a single access point, and said that they can practically guarantee that the county will end up requiring a second access.

The rezoning must now be finalized at a second reading, then the hospital will have to go through another public hearing process when it presents its actual plan to the plan commission.

Just as at the County Plan Commission meeting in December when the rezoning case was first heard, a large crowd of residents attended Tuesday’s meeting with concerns about drainage, traffic, and disruption to the rural character of Liberty Township. Several of the residents said they support a new hospital, but not at the site selected.

On the opposite side were proponents of the rezoning who praised the location as centrally located for the most populated areas of the county and who said the large parcel will give the hospital enough room to meet the health care needs of a growing county. More supporters spoke out in support of the rezoning on Tuesday than when the case was presented to the plan commission.

Commissioner President Robert Harper, a Democrat, and North County Commissioner John Evans, a Republican, voted in support of the rezoning. South County Commissioner Carole Knoblock, a Democrat, voted against.

Harper outlined the events that led up to Tuesday’s vote, including last year’s decision by county officials to sell Porter Memorial Hospital to a for-profit buyer, eventually CHS. The overriding reason why the hospital was sold, he said, was to get a new, modernized hospital with all-private rooms. He said the hospital was losing patients mainly because patients today demand private rooms and that many Porter County residents are going elsewhere for their health care.

“We deserve a top-drawer hospital in this county,” he said.

Harper said he feels bad about having to make the decision impacting the Liberty Township community, but said the overriding issue is to obtain a high-quality hospital. He said it’s unfortunate that hospitals must be so market-driven, but that they will fail if they aren’t located in areas easily accessible to large segments of the population.

Evans responded to several concerns raised by residents, one of whom asked Evans for his future vision of Liberty Township. Evans noted that he has rejected various requests for commercial uses along U.S. 6 and said he believes that even with the hospital, Liberty Township will always remain largely rural.

He also noted that under the county’s Unified Development Ordinance, the hospital will have to meet stringent requirements on drainage and open space, including the condition that 20 percent of the site must remain as green space.

Knoblock said she couldn’t in good conscience vote for or against the rezoning unless it’s known if the hospital will have a second access point. She also said that as a member of the Porter County Drainage Board, she has significant concerns about how the development will affect drainage. She also voiced fears that the hospital will prompt “strip malls and gas stations” and other developments on U.S. 6.

Not Here

Many of the residents who spoke against the rezoning said they agree that a new hospital is needed, but questioned why the other sites that the hospital considered haven’t been divulged and why the hospital can’t remain in the county seat of Valparaiso.

“We live here. We deserve to have these other sites looked at,” said resident Jeff McCraw.

Ed Gutt, who lives on U.S. 6, questioned if the highway will ever become more than its current two-lane road, citing the restrictions against new highways as part of the Indiana Toll Road lease. J.F. Schrader raised a host of concerns about impact on drainage, as well as impacting the rural character now in Liberty Township. “You’re simply trying to push a rural area out,” he said.

Gerald Hebert urged the commissioners to consider the rights of those “who have put down roots” in Liberty Township, noting that none of those who spoke in support of the rezoning were actual residents of the area. “You’re actually giving us away to a bunch of suits,” he said, describing the hospital officials and their representatives.

Raising a different concern was Alan Hewitt, who questioned the legality of the rezoning. Reading from the county’s UDO, Hewitt said that R-1 is not listed as one of the appropriate adjoining uses next to an Institutional zone. If the commissioners approve the rezoning, “I really feel it would be a violation of their own UDO,” he said.

In response, hospital attorney William Ferngren said the adjoining zones in the UDO represent only a guide and that the county commissioners have full legal authority to rezone property as they see fit.

Hewitt also raised a concern about higher property values that might result from the new hospital. He said that because of reassessment and trending, higher values will lead to higher taxes, which could be a boon for speculators but which could cause a hardship for long-time Liberty Township residents. “I don’t plan to cut and run,” he said.

Site is Ideal

Among those who spoke in support of the rezoning was Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas. While the city would prefer that the hospital stayed in Valparaiso, he said the hospital has been a good corporate citizen, that it serves a broader community and that the site selected seems to be accessible to many parts of the county.

Rex Richards, president of the Greater Valpariaso Chamber of Commerce, praised the infusion of new taxes -- estimated at $3.2 million -- which will help reduce tax rates for everyone else. He also said the approximately 700 members of the Chamber “greatly support” the new hospital site.

Dr. Joseph Venditti said the Liberty Township site is closer to the majority of doctor offices and residences, which in turn will lead to quicker response times in emergencies.

Barb Young, president of the Porter County Community Foundation and former hospital board member, noted that a needs assessments underway by the Foundation and the United Way shows that health care ranks as one of the top three issues in Porter County. The Liberty Township site represents a wonderful opportunity for a state-of-the-art hospital, she said.

Similarly, Portage Economic Development Director Chris Stidham said his city “enthusiastically supports” the site, which will provide an excellent opportunity for increased development along the U.S. 6 corridor.

Addressing the lack of a second access was resident and developer Pat Kleihege, who has developed property in Liberty Township and who noted that he now owns a large piece of adjacent property. He spoke in support of the hospital rezoning and offered to provide the hospital with another access point from his property off C.R. 900N.

Posted 1/23/2008