Broadlands Medical Facility

Interesting. Was he introduced? I got there late.

 

Nope. He was sitting quietly in the corner, to your left.

 

Cliff, do you know if Steve Snow knows who Dearing is? Would he of recognized him?

 

I don't know if they've met or not.

 

Cliff and afgm...Steve Snow does know Bryan Dearing. I was disappointed that he didn't take the opportunity to introduce him at the meeting so that residents could talk to him after the meeting...since Snow certainly didn't want to spend any time on this issue as he feels the hospital belongs in South Riding.

 

Is anyone available to attend the HOA Board of Directors meeting tomorrow, Tuesday? I have some unanswered questions regarding "the letters", and I wanted the board to be able to address them...such as by-laws and communications from individual board members. I plan on attending...but, I think if there are others who are concerned it might let the board know that this issue really does need addressed.

 

The lack of an introduction is very disappointing, in fact disturbing. I for one, would of liked to have met Mr. Dearing.

On a positive note, I find it very admirable that Mr. Dearing found it important to attend the meeting. I think it says a lot about the commitment BRMC has in being a good neighbor. Sure wish he could of gotten more out of it, by receiving a cordial introduction and opportunity to discussion. A discussion either in the meeting or afterwards. It would of been a perfect time to bring up issues about strong buffers and tree preservation.

 

I know that there was a public meeting on the hospital in July, but I believe another one should be held with Snow, LHC and BMRC in September, with plenty of advertising aforehand so all residents know and understand that the meeting is open to all the public, and will have representatives from all relavant parties to answer questions.

However, I do believe that there should be a formal setup so people who want to ask questions sign up ahead of time (an hour before the meeting starts) and that a question limit (main and followup ??) be imposed on each questioner.

This would give all a chance to ask questions, without a free-for-all beginning.


Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Neil...and the reason for inviting Loudoun Hospital would be????
Isn't it BRMC that owns property in Broadlands, and isn't it BRMC that received state approval to build in Broadlands?

Have you had a chance to pull up the websites I referenced previously with the "Approved Residential Projects"? Between Broadlands, Brambleton, Loudoun Valley Estates and Moorefield Station we can expect 13,000 housing units to be built in the vicinity of BRMC. I assume this is why LCPS jumped on the property available from the Islamic Saudi Academy...which is right around the corner from where Moorefield Station will be. The Dulles area has about half of that on the books. Be certain to pull the Brambleton number out of Dulles...as they are much closer to Broadlands/Ashburn than South Riding.

As you can tell..I do like to back up my reasons for why BRMC belongs here in Broadlands with statistics. Here's one more that I didn't know about until the folks from Fire and Rescue told us about at the meeting the other night. Their website shows the call volume for all of their stations. Check out the call volume for Arcola (which supports South Riding) and compare to Ashburn. In 2003, the EMS call volume was 160% greater in Ashburn. In 2008, they anticipate the call volume to be 247% greater in Ashburn than Arcola.

 

A way to question all sides on their ads, tactics, and desires. In other words, a fair and open hearing of all opinions so that those who want the hospital here, and those that oppose it can ask questions and get direct answers.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

For another perspective on why it Ashburn would seem to be a logical place for the county's 2nd hospital, check this out:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/interactives/dcAreaSprawl.html

The Washington Post is taking a week-long look at the region's "urban sprawl." It's pretty interesting reading, and this graphic is striking. It shows just how much the Sterling/Ashburn/Leesburg area grew from 1986-2000. It also shows how undeveloped the South Riding area is (in comparison to Ashburn).

Taking a county-wide view of development, this graphic would clearly seem to show that South Riding is not the place for another hospital. And the previous suggestion of putting it at the intersection of 50 and 15 is laughable.

 

Greetings, folks. I am a resident of South Riding, who reads your forum as a way to keep up with another community in the district. I've thought long and hard about joining, because I've seen the spirited debate about whether this medium should be exclusive to your community. I figure it is up to all of you whether or not you wish to converse with me about district subjects, and the best way for me to enter into that honestly is to sign my own name and tell you where I live.
Two things I'd like to offer, as a resident of one of the areas under discussion:
First, to Jeanne: I visited the county website, and there is only information available on the volunteer companies. Arcola is #9, and South Riding (not listed) is #19. Perhaps it is not featured on the site because it is the first career station in Loudoun. It has been operational for several years, and is the primary responder to South Riding calls. The fact that it is not listed could skew any conclusions as to population data taken solely from the volunteer records. There is quite a history on this station, that I 'd be happy to discuss with anyone interested.
Second: our HOA received presentations from both LHI and HCA on their respective positions, and I offer this on the population data maps used by Mr. Looney in the HCA projections--as Mr. Looney admitted to us (and to the Planning Commission at the public hearing), they used the best information available. Here we get into how information is tracked in the county. The maps distributed show a total of 2000 people (2 stars) in the area east of 659 and south of 50 in the year 2000. That was the year South riding passed the $1B mark as a real property tax base. We had over 2000 occupied units that year (with much lower home values than now!), and were one of nearly 2 dozen active subdivisions in that region south of 50 at the time. I would offer that it is a safe bet that there were more than 2000 people in this region four years ago. The map projecting 2010 shows a total of 6 stars for 6000 people in that area (s of 50, e of 659). Currently, South Riding (again, by no means the only active development here) has over 4000 occupied units. A Washington Post article at the beginning of the summer referenced a population in the community of over 13,000. I do not know the current exact figure for active population in the subdivision, but I feel it is safe to say that it is over 10,000, or 4 thousand more than HCA's maps project for the larger region four years from now.
Our area was hugely impacted by the by-right land rush under the preceding BoS. Often the county does not formally track by-right until it is completed. In the case of larger by-right developments (such as Lenah Run, west of Arcola, s of 50, e of 15), this can skew projections.
I don't want to go ranting on my first post about tracking development on the 50 corridor, but I believe it was Pats fan who noted the Post series on sprawl. Did anyone notice that the first article on Sunday referenced 10 acre zoning as if it were the max? That is the cluster option for the northwestern rural region zoned for 20 acre lots. Yesterday's article noted the route 9/route 7 corridor, and showed the 20 acre base zoning. None of the three articles made any mention of the 50 acre base zoning on the western route 50 corridor. We are the region most closely threatening that area of extreme restrictive zoning, and as such are often minimized, perhaps because it minimizes any arguments against the zoning.
My belief is that the hospital issue is being played in a variety of ways that are primarily political, and one of the most detrimental to our district is the opportunity for a "divide and conquer" game in Dulles. Our district will be the primary battleground in the growth-philosophies war because we have the most land available for development. Smart growth would prefer that that growth not go on the road to 50 acre land. You live on the road (267) that has zoning for 50 units to the acre (Moorefield). My fear is that we both end up losing if the discussions aren't based on the best factual info available.
Our region has to struggle for any service we get (our unacknowledged fire house consists of a tent and a trailer, which houses the hazmat response vehicle for the region, and is supposed to be a permanent safety station, which passed bond in 1999. The land was tied up in red tape until this year), because we have grown in an area that smart growth thinks shouldn't have grown at all. You will get as many regional facilities as possible, so that the urban zoning used to justify them can proceed, which (maybe in our lifetime?) will bring the rail that was used to justify the as yet unrealized urban zoning. I've seen the discussions about the marketing in your community, and I guess a question I want to toss out here is "How fast do you want to urbanize?"
I'm going to sign off now, because I've yapped a lot for an introductory post. Maybe not a good idea until I see if you want to welcome an outsider to the mix. I hope you do though, because I'd like to talk with people in another area of the district. We'll see!

Barbara Munsey, from South Riding.

 

Barbara,

I agree that the competition between the North and the South (odd that seems to be a recurring theme throughout history) for the Hospital will serve no other purpose except to delay or even kill any chances we have at getting a new hospital. My question to you is why are you working to defeat the hospital in Broadlands? It is disingenuous to suggest that a unilateral action by the BoS to implement "Loudoun Healtcare Incorporated's Healthcare Plan for the County" will result in anything but blocking Loudoun from getting a 2nd hospital.

The realities are that HCA "OWNS" THE BEDS, not Loudoun County or the BoS, and unless the State agrees to add more beds to the NV area (about as likely as Santa Claus turning out to be real) our ONLY option for a new hospital is HCA. If they wanted to build in Dulles South or the West they would've filed a COPN for those areas. They don't and they won't.

Loudoun has an opportunity to have a new, state-of-the-art hospital running by 2008. And that only exists if BRMC is approved.

I also have to ask if the County Healthcare Plan is so important and getting a hospital in the South simliary so, why wasn't the BoS or other residents working on it 3 years ago when HCA first started looking at Loudoun? We have put almost three years into fighting with the State just to agree that Loudoun needs the additional Hospital. Now you want to destroy all that work and start over just because it isn't 5 miles closer? Show me the facts that justify that.

 

Hello, vweisenburg, and thanks for response. I'll try to reply in order.
I agree that the north/south issue keeps cropping up, and it will remain damaging as long as we keep getting sucked into it. I think it does more than delay or kill the hospital, it reframes and distorts the issue.
I realize that this is a passionate issue in your community, but the CPAM, although proposed by LHI, is also BoS sponsored. Please don't assume I want to "defeat" BRMC, or "destroy" three years of work. That puts some words in my mouth. I entered the discussion because there are opinions out there about my community that fall short of what's here. I'm not here to try and tell any of you what to think or do.
Yes, HCA owns the existing beds which it is proposing to move. I think the growth in the region justifies new beds, which we won't see from Santa. There are approved beds that are still in the process of coming on line in the region, and a better evaluation may be made at the state level when they're in place. My button gets punched when incomplete data is used to track and project development to "prove" a political point, because then we all lose on many levels, and not just in the north and the south. This isn't about whether Broadlands or South Riding get a hospital, because there are more people in the county than our two communities.
You ask a good question when you wonder why no one was working on this three years ago. I remain amazed that during the entire comprehensive plan review process, smart growth never thought to review this basic service.
I agree that Loudoun needs more healthcare services. I don't agree that moving beds within the region will accomplish everything that is necessary, and my opinion is that if the only other facility is placed in such close proximity to the only existing facility, it will pretty much kill any new approvals with the state for years. I don't think that is a viable solution for a region growing as fast as ours, particularly when some of the data used to support the argument is that there is nothing on the 50 corridor. Politically, there are many people who wish that weren't so, however, that doesn't make the wish the truth.
The current revised comp plan states plainly that facilities will be directed to the areas where growth "is desired". Future tense. The flip side of this, in my experience, is that facilities have been delayed or denied in areas where growth is not desired, whether growth exists there or not. So back to my question: How fast does your area want to urbanize? The number of facilities placed in your area is in direct proportion to the density you will see. Our area has seen heavy market driven growth, and equally heavy denial of the fact of its existence.
One of my concerns as both a resident of my community and of our shared district is that if we can be manipulated into a struggle between our two communities over an issue that affects the entire county (not only on the level of healthcare but also in relation to the policy on growth)is that the political agenda will advance while both our regions get shafted, which has been the history of this portion of the east.
If you choose to perceive me as being against BRMC, that's your call. I'm for the CPAM. The main thing I'm against in the process is any presentation of incomplete (or incorrect) information about my community being used as fact in the discussion. Fair?
(I can't really answer your question about showing you facts to justify placing it five miles closer. To what? This is another problem in discussing the issue: South Riding the region, or the specific community? The only thing I've heard about possible sitings are to the west of us, at the limits of utilities on the 50 corridor. This would place it more likely in the region of Stone Ridge, which itself suffers from being referred to as "in South Riding", although they are about five miles to our west.)

Barbara Munsey, from South Riding.

 

Hi Barbara-
Welcome to our forums!
Regarding the CPAM: Yes, it was "adopted" by the BoS, but don't deceive yourself into thinking they saw any merit. As you so aptly pointed out, it's all about politics. I am firmly convinced it was adopted by the BoS for political reasons.
After all, buddies have to take care of buddies, and the needs of the county be damned!!

I would support the hospital if it was proposed in Broadlands, Rte 50, or (my favorite spot), Brambleton. I am convinced we need a hospital NOW. Trying to "zone zway" BRMC with the CPAM will set the county back years in getting another hospital.

I support the concept of the CPAM, but it needs to start with the three state approved hospitals...LHC, BRMC, LHC Cornwall, and go from there.

In 10-15 years, there will be no Dulles North or Dulles South. It will be wall to wall development. I doubt there is an acre left in this district that isn't spoken for.
Cliff

P.S. I edited the post to remove names. Given that I have a lot of respect for the people I mentioned, I don't want the forums to start going after them and their motives. I need to return to my earlier habit of previewing before posting!

 

Hi Cliff, and thank you. I'm glad we agree on the fact of the politics, but I have some questions. Does Randy Minchew have any official connection with LHI, other than any legal work his firm may have been hired for? I know they're among the best attorneys in Loudoun, so I imagine a wide variety of people seek their services. I do know he is on one of the boards of Oatlands, but I doubt if anyone would say that proves he's a smart-growther! Dale Myers is often painted as uber-eminence-grise of Loudoun, but again, what is the personal agenda there? It's no secret her family has been here for generations and she's been involved in local politics since before a lot of us lived here. Larry Beerman's appointment to the LHI board came between his government public service stints on the BoS and the PC, and he has recused himself from the issue as he should.
"Buddies have to take care of buddies, and the needs of the county be damned!" Cliff, I think the needs of the county were damned by the people who pushed smart growth under the preceding administration, and I think the hurryup to get Broadlands built is part of the same agenda of smart growth. Two hairsplits and one political anecdote, having to do with Dr. Stroube's reversal on the COPN: 1st, I've read and heard discussion of whether HCA told those in Richmond that they have a site that is zoned for a hospital. This has to do with the necessity of asking the right question if you want a real answer. The site is zoned for a hospital, yes and no. Yes, it is on the list of special exceptions for PDOP under one of the comp plan versions under which the split zoned site is governed. No, until the exception process is successfully completed, a hospital can't be built there. If it were simply "zoned for a hospital", a hospital would be on the list of by-right uses. We ran into this at the HCA presentation to our HOA, when someone asked Mr. Looney if it were true that Loudoun was the only county in Planning Zone 8 that did not have some kind of plan like this, and he replied that it was not. We didn't ask the right question: further questions elicited the clarifications that counties in the zone had "Institutional Zoning", which specifically delineates areas for schools, hospitals, research facilities. In other words, as by-right uses for the land. Since we have no such specific zoning in our current comp plan, an amendment (which can be proposed by anyone) is our only option for adding it. I think the addition is good planning, which would seem to have been a good idea under the intense review between '00 and '03. 2nd hairsplit: the HCA informational maps projecting population are not an accurate representation of existing population, nor are they an accurate projection given the land use process. Hence, I don't think they are conclusive evidence for determining the best site. Any approved rezoning, such as Moorefield, goes on the books right away. That doesn't mean the people will be here at a specific time. Approximately half of the units can be built with no road improvements etc, but there are two transit triggers for the next two phases of the project. When we asked Mr. Looney how much of the population projections were based on the TOD approvals on the Greenway, we did some clarification there too, which blended with our questions on why they projected thousands fewer four years out in a region that already had more people than they were projecting in just one (albeit the largest) PUD. The devil is in the details of tracking, and Loudoun tracks politically what should be tracked objectively. (Hopefully, that is changing.) His final comment was that they could only base their information on the information they were given. True, and I bet he's a darn good lawyer too. Political anecdote: Many people were surprised when Dr. Stroube reversed himself on the second COPN, and I remember reading (either in a newspaper forum or on this forum) that he had received new testimony. I wondered what that was and promptly forgot about it until either the last week of May or the first week of June, when I read the obituaries for a man named Shropshire from Middleburg. The Post ran a long article about his long and distinguished political career in the GA dating back to the 60s, and his intimate connection with the Wilder administration. The Times Mirror (only in the print edition; for some reason they didn't post it on their web) ran an obit where I'd say one third of it consisted of an interview with Ms. Descutner of BRMC. She spoke of his political achievements, and said that BRMC had tapped him to shepherd the process of the hospital through Richmond, and how much they had counted on him for that. Pretty odd text for an obituary on a statewide politcal luminary. That made me see a reason for the reversal that smells like good ole Virginia politics to me. I searched the web for other obits, because I gave my hard copy of that issue of the LTM to Steve Snow. I found some good ones in the papers where he was buried (Martinsville? -burg?), containing interviews with Cate Magennis Wyatt, the Waterford preservationist who started out as a bulding planner, and moved on to an environmental apointment in Gov. Wilder's cabinet. The final hymn at the funeral was "Take Me Out To The Ballgame". That seems pretty interesting, given the development picture of the Greenway, but I'm going to rein in my inner Oliver Stone there. Thanks again for the welcome. I'm glad you agree it's politics, but the politics here are so tangled I hesitate to subscribe to the theory that unless we take BRMC right away, the whole county is doomed. I want to know exactly who's selling that, and why.

Barbara Munsey, from South Riding.

 

From Leesburg Today, July 2 2004:

"Land-use attorney Randy Minchew, whose firm helped develop the draft healthcare plan for LHI, told the planning commission that the ultimate decision about where a hospital is located lies with the local government, not the state health commissioner, who approved the Broadlands Medical Center. The board of supervisors has not approved the site yet and has shown preference to locating a hospital in South Riding."

Sounds like a fairly firm connection to LHI's County Heathcare Plan to me.

 

Barbara,

How about breaking up your postings a little by throwing in a blank line between paragraphs. It would make your postings much easier to read...

 

After reading the last several posts, one thing that is escaping me so far is that if HCA is using inaccurate population figures to determine where to locate, isn't that their risk to assume? After all, wouldn't it impact their bottom line?

 

GCyr: re the Leesburg Today reference to Minchew's testimony, can we conclude that this means the firm he belongs to was hired by LHI to do the land-use work on the CPAM? This ties in with my question about any connection being either personal or professional: anyone can go to any law firm and seek to retain their services, and his firm is one of the best. If Randy has any personal connection to LHI, by being on one of their boards etc, I would imagine he would not be the attorney appearing before the BoS on behalf of the CPAM.


Yes, I'll do something to separate my rambles. I'm still learning the ropes here.

Barbara Munsey, from South Riding.