STUDY WILL HELP JUDGE SPACE PLAN ISSUE IS HOW MUCH ROOM NEEDED FOR MEDICAL OFFICES.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- City officials hope an independent study of the need for building dense office space around Newhall Memorial Hospital helps them evaluate its controversial proposed master plan.

Of great concern in the residential area surrounding the hospital is whether a proper balance will exist between hospital and medical office space, and the study will address that.

``I will compare the ratios of medical office space to hospital size and see how this one compares to hospitals of similar sizes,'' said Gordon Johnson, director of appraisal and market analysis for the Oakland-based HFS Consultants.

Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital is seeking the city's approval for its master plan, which would detail how the facility could be built out over the next 25 years.

City planners were charged with analyzing the physical mass of the proposed buildings, but in October, while the issue was still before the Santa Clarita Planning Commission, a member of the City Council sought the more in-depth study.

In November, planning commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of the plan, which allows for tripling the size of the medical center. The commissioners' rejection of earlier versions of the plan, which they called too massive, resulted in a revamped plan that contained less floor space and fewer stories for buildings fronting McBean Parkway.

Commissioners Diane Trautman and Dennis Ostrom cast the dissenting votes.

Older hospitals are required by law to update their facilities and it's often cheaper to tear down buildings and start from scratch than to retrofit existing buildings -- as many hospitals have done. This is not the case with Newhall Memorial, which has been retrofitted.

Ripples from the 1994 Northridge Earthquake are still felt in the hospital industry, and many facilities have plunked office workers into former patient care areas to avoid the expense of retooling older buildings to meet strict new codes.

``The issue here is, there aren't a lot of old buildings to move into on campus and if you can't move into old buildings, the other option is to build something new,'' Johnson said.

Many in the community travel outside the valley for medical care and if -- or when -- another major earthquake hits and the freeway collapses, Newhall Memorial would need to serve more people.

``I'll be looking at it from the standpoint of whether the hospital can meet its existing need and potentially greater needs in the future,'' Johnson said.

Some say a glaring omission is the study's limits: HFS is not charged with spelling out whether the proposed buildout is in synch with the residential community in its midst.

``I think the study is too narrow in scope,'' said David Gauny, who heads Smart Growth SCV. ``In part because it correlates medical office space and hospital space but fails to address the issues of the use of the site.

``How much can you build on this site? From a planning and medical care standpoint, is that a smart place? Can it support a regional medical facility?''

Members of the grass-roots group -- which numbers about 500 -- packed City Hall for the final series of planning commission meetings.

Councilman Bob Kellar asked for the study in October, and the commission in part based its recommendation for the project on the not-yet-seen report.

``The action seems to have shortchanged the community on (not) making sure the impacts were fully analyzed, disclosed and mitigated,'' Gauny said.

Gauny says he is encouraged that the council seems to be taking its time reviewing the project, but next week the group will demand that no further action be taken on the matter until several issues are addressed.

The group has sought the advice of attorneys, but could retain them if its concerns are ignored.

``If the public cannot get its legal due process then there will be a lawsuit, and if the planning commission passes this we have not received it,'' he said.

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