July 19 Planning Commission Hearing Comments

Us Pro Hospital people are just recognizing and agreeing with the need for a hospital which people against building it here have even agreed upon. We need another hospital to meet the needs of Loudoun County. Once again HCA is proposing to build it here where the VOLUME of people live, not Purcerville or across from Worldcomm. We can all argue about where we all think it should be--facts are facts a hospital is needed and the proposal is here in Broadlands.

 

Worldcomm is only a mile away. Most people don't live that close to a hospital. There is a large volume of people here. You are right. So we should put the waste management facility here too. Along with the garbage dump b/c it would be closer to where the large volume of people are. And the coal power plant too! That way there is only a mile of transmission lines from plant to your house. This is not a good argument as to why it should be here.

HCA wants to be in Broadlands not b/c it cares but b/c we have money. End of story. Just b/c they can doesn't mean they should.

 

HCA wants to be in Broadlands b/c they bought the land in Broadlands. From what I understand, Terrabrook gave them a pretty good deal. HCA does not get any extra "money" because of this location. It's not like they get revenue from a Broadlands resident "tax" or anything like that. HCA will earn money b/c patients use their facility, and Broadlands residents would be just as likely to use a facility across from Worldcomm as they would one in Broadlands.

I find this whole Broadlands/Worldcomm debate to be silly. It is compeletely academic. HCA owns the land in Broadlands and has state approval for a Broadlands site. If you were the CEO of HCA years ago when HCA bought the land, maybe you could have influenced its location. Today, however, the debate is moot.

 

Homer,
O.K., is someone interested in building a waste management co.? Whats your point. The issue is a much needed hospital. You have already said we need the hospital. That is the issue. They're not as I said before giving us choices (they're choosing) of where it will be. People (lots of people) have chosen to live here in Ashburn. Yes, there is money here--because of the volumes of people. If it means getting the job done-building the hospital why not? I understand your concerns. With a growing population comes change it is a fact of life. I have said before that I have lived in Ashburn since 1989. Believe me lots of changes have happened. If I wanted to live somewhere that wouldn't need all these changes, I would not have picked Ashburn. Loudoun County is #1 in the Country. The majority live right here. Shouldn't the hospital meet the needs of the majority?

 

They bought the land AFTER the first COPN was rejected and opposition became vocal. That says alot about their mindset. They could have bought the land at Worldcomm for cheap at that point as well but didn't. Although they don't get a "Broadlandds tax". They do get a population of insured patients. I'm willing to bet that the old hospital was losing money b/c of it's urban location and ratio of unisured patients.

 

My issue is that this county is not being developed smartly. It seems to be willy nilly with no thought to the long term. It's still stuck in the Good 'Ol boy days with the attitude of sacrifice the east and preserve the west. I'm for development but it needs to be smart. We need to put up resistance so maybe the county gets planned better. Just look around. Where are the sidewalks? The stop sign intersection problem is it's own thread. The toll road bisects the county while 7 and waxpool can't handle the increased load.

 

Placing the hospital in MCI is not a silly debate. Just because HCA bought the land does not make Broadlands the best place for the hospital. If HCA truly cared about the residents they are trying to serve, they would have bought the land at MCI in an effort to avoid negatively impacting residential life in Broadlands. The SFH’s bordering Broadlands Blvd. will be directly affected by having a hospital within view of their house. Maybe the house values will decrease, maybe they wont (for right now they probably will continue to rise for a little while longer) but if someone had the choice to buy a house embedded in that area (ex. not within view of hospital) or along Broadlands Blvd facing the hospital, I bet they would choose the embedded house. Eventually, long time down the road, those houses will not be able to sell for as much as those houses not within view of the hospital. Since the “plans” put out by Broadlands for future home buyers still only says “office” and not “land zone for big 7-story building with no trees at all or a hospital”, most home owners probably thought only a shopping center geared towards Broadlands residents would be there (like the Safeway one). So, those homeowners who worked hard to buy a home get screwed for money.

 

The land is bought in Broadlands. The Broadlands site is approved by the state. It is a done deal.

This makes for great debate on these forums, but no amount of debate will get HCA to move the hospital to Worldcomm.

Thus...silly.

 

Pats_fan- just a "silly" question. Which site makes more sense for a hospital: MCI/WorldComm area or a residential neighborhood (Broadlands)? Nothing is set in stone yet unless something came out today. Given that, there is still room for "silly' debates as nothing is final.
quote]Originally posted by Pats_fan

The land is bought in Broadlands. The Broadlands site is approved by the state. It is a done deal.

This makes for great debate on these forums, but no amount of debate will get HCA to move the hospital to Worldcomm.

Thus...silly.
[/quote]

 

If the right people get riled up maybe it's not silly. The butterfly effect. What is said here may trigger other events.

It's not a done deal. The change proposed by LCH may very well sink the BRMC. It has a good chance of doing so, I think. Steve Snow doesn't want it here in Broadlands he wants it in South Riding.

 

This is a GREAT location for a hospital. There are three main traffic corridors running (roughly) east west in Loudoun County. Route 7, Route 50 and the Greenway.

LHI is on the Route 7 part. It happens to be in a bad location, as it is land locked to the north by the Potomac River.

BRMC is going to be on the Greenway corridor. Awesome, and convenient location for those west of here.

And 10 years (total speculation) from now there will be one on the Route 50 corridor.

The only people I heard complaining about the location of the hospital were a few Broadland residents and those with financial interests in Loudoun Hospital.

It's even a great location for a helicopter pad. Flights (projected at 2 or 3 a week) will go down the corridor and not over neighborhoods (unlike the mute Worldcomm idea). Emergency vehicles (you know those loud things) will be accessing the hospital from Belmont's four lane highway. They will NOT be going through the Broadlands community. The will be traveling on the efficient Greenway, or the soon to be widened Belmont Ridge. The Greenway and Belmont Ridge is and will be a major intersection in this County. Perfect for access to healthcare, east, west, north and south. If I was planning a hospital I'd look for a location exactly like this one.

I see no reason why this is not a perfect location for a hospital.

Those qualified to complain are those that live right across from this commercial property. I just happen to think, there issues pale when compared to the needs of thousands of other residents.

I suggest those closes to the hospital follow Cliff's example, put your energy into minimizing and enhancing the buffers, traffic flows, etc. You won't have this influence on an office park. Press BRMC for everything you can get. They have proven to be extremely receptive to suggestions. Their actions are speaking loudly. They are listening and they are reacting.

The fact is this is not a Broadlands issue, it is not an Ashburn issue, it's not even a Loudoun issue. Healthcare is an issue for the region! Not one speaker, I heard, mentioned they didn't think there was a need for more healthcare in the County. Any change to the State approved location will delay increased and competitive healthcare for this County for multiple years. To this COUNTY an option that is not acceptable.

Stop thinking about just Broadlands, broaden your perspective and you will see this is not a bad location.

Cliff did a great job the other night representing Broadlands and the community. He brought up legitimate and actionable concerns. i.e. trees, buffers, access, etc. These are things that will make BRMC a better neighbor. That is the best approach, anything else is myopic and only focusing on personal, not in my back yard issues.

 

Good post! Well thought out and no hint of adversarialism in it! I like! It's good on the higher ground, but that's easy when you don't live next to it! It's easy to ask others to sacrifice.

But I do think you are right. If this can't be stopped, make sure the BRMC turns out to be something better. I really do think this would not be the case if there had been no opposition to begin with!

 

Clearly, if I had a choice I would want the Broadlands site turned into a park or a golf course and have a hospital built at MCI/Worldcomm. But, alas, none of us have a choice in the matter. (land bought...site approved...etc.)

I ask you this: how is arguing this point helpful? What can we accomplish by arguing that 5 years ago HCA should have bought land across from MCI and applied for a hospital on that site? Is it your intent to convince HCA to throw away its plan as currently approved by the state, sell the Broadlands property, buy the Worldcomm property, and apply to the state for a hospital at this site (thereby delaying a new hospital by several years or more)? If so, good luck.

Otherwise, I don't see what further debate can accomplish.

Oh, and Homer, if Steve Snow and the rest of the BOS does not approve the Broadlands site, they won't approve a Worldcomm site for the same reasons. Worldcomm is even further from Snow's beloved home town of South Riding. So again, arguing about having the hospital at Worldcomm is pointless.

 

And the difference between Broadlands and the MCI/Worldcomm area is.....?

Worldcomm has direct access to the Greenway and the Dulles Toll road for those who don't want to pay the $2.00 to go 5-miles, It also has direct access to Rt. 28 which is directly connected to Rt. 7.

And the difference between this and the Worldcomm site is....?? Nothing. Worldcomm has the SAME attributes.

Because it doesn't belong in a residential area. It belongs where other large buildings are such as the MCI/Worldcomm campus. There is no reason it couldn't do everything you say it does in Broadlands in MCI/Worldcomm. And, as a bonus, it wouldn’t impact the homeowners in view of the hospital, the ones that you don't give a dogs excrement about because it doesn't affect you and your home.

That is all well and good now, but there is nothing set in stone for those nice buffer areas to remain after all is said and done. Eventually they will disappear as space becomes a premium and the hospital is already there, HCA won't have to do anything to please the public anymore.

 

But at least it won't be here!

I'm just trying to point out that we (the citizens of Loudoun) should not trust HCA to do the right thing. They have to be forced to do it and in order for that to happen people have to be stirred up. At this point I think it's a coin toss. If the hospital is built I want to make sure we can control it and not be some afterthought to them.

 

OK, fine, but arguing that HCA should have looked at putting the hospital near Worldcomm obscures the issues and derails us from constructive debate.

I completely agree with your sentiments that county planning needs to be done better. In hindsight, maybe a hospital would be better placed at Worldcomm, or Leesburg, or... (take your pick).

However, today, the "ground truth" is that the county will either get a new hospital in Broadlands or it will not get one at all. Our time would be better spent aruging about how to ensure the impact of BRMC, if approved, is as minimal as possible. Alternatively, if you would rather not see a new hospital for Loudoun county, you should argue against approval of BRMC by the BOS.

 

Agreed!

 

You mean it needs to be near another large building...like the new School Administration building

Where was the outrage when that was planned and built?

As for not caring, that may be your opinion, but I care. Otherwise, I would not be promoting dialog on the issue. I am not directly next to the property, but I am within the next line of homes effected by the site. So, it does effect me and my home, hence the interest.

Stop looking at this issue through a straw and broaden the perspective. [8D]

[/quote]

Farscape writes:

Because it doesn't belong in a residential area. It belongs where other large buildings are ... And, as a bonus, it wouldn’t impact the homeowners in view of the hospital, the ones that you don't give a dogs excrement about because it doesn't affect you and your home.
[quote

 

It's obvious HCA wanted it here for some reason. There was another thread where someone did some research on the Worldcomm property and they found that it did have the contigous land, sewer, water and Greenway access. All requirements stated by the BRMC website. The one thing it's missing is a rich neighborhood! Again, HCA is not our friend. We should not blindly trust them to do right by us.