Township planners need more information from Beaumont before even committing to a full site-plan evaluation.
Beaumont needs to complete impact studies on the community, traffic, tax revenues, and qualifications for a Planned Unit Development before investing in a complete site plan, said Sam Moraco, Independence Township Planning Commission member at Thursday’s regular meeting.
‘This is a courtesy to you,? Moraco said.
If those items check out, then the township can move forward by setting a public hearing, he said.
A crowd filled the meeting room at the Independence Township Library and spilled into the hallway, as Beaumont presented its plan for a Life Care Campus and William Beaumont Hospital, a multi-phase project, to the commission.
The first stage, which would begin as soon as it is approved, includes a medical office building, ambulatory service center, laboratory, radiology department, imaging center, physical and occupational therapy, nursing home, assisted living facility and an urgent-care, basic life support emergency room.
A hospital would be developed in future phases, subject to state regulations.
Facilities on the 63-acre site on the northwest corner of M-15 and I-75 would include a $13-million, 120-employee office building for primary-care and specialist physicians. The $17 million ambulatory care center would employ 60 people, and offer outpatient testing and surgical procedures, and a 10-bed, basic life-support emergency room. The $18-million rehabilitation and nursing center would employ 220 people and have 175 beds.
The development would use the ‘big dip? in the landscape, dug out when I-75 when constructed, to mask as much of the multi-story buildings as possible, said Eric Hunt, vice president of operations for Beaumont.
‘We’ll put the more dense development on the valley floor,? he said.
Discussion by commission members and members of the public, who were allowed 20 minutes of comment, focused on the impact of the development on the area.
‘The issue here is not the reputation of Beaumont ? it’s a fine and reputable hospital,? said Larry Rosso, commission member. ‘It’s the appropriate use of the land.?
The area in question was listed in the township Master Plan as mostly residential, Rosso said.
‘The people there moved in with the idea that it would remain residential,? he said.
Traffic is a major concern ? it would lead to congestion on M-15 and its interchange with I-75, and/or spill over into the neighborhood to the west and north, he said.
Beaumont will adjust is plan based on the input from the planning commission and residents, said John Krolicki, Beaumont director of facilities development.
‘We’re a good neighbor ? we’ll work out these issues with the neighbors,? Krolicki said.
When Beaumont proposed its Troy project in 1977, neighbors expressed similar concerns, he said.
The Troy center now includes a 296-bed hospital, which offers a full line of inpatient and outpatient services, and a Professional Office Building with physicians? private practices and other hospital services.
In Troy, Beaumont representatives met with neighbors and made adjustments, he said.
‘By the final meeting, they were there to support us,? Krolicki said.
In Independence Township, Beaumont will meet with residents in mid February, he said.
Thursday’s meeting was the first of many steps, said Richard Carlisle, planning consultant.
After a public hearing, the planning commission would have to grant preliminary then final site plan approval. Then, the plan would go before the township board for two readings.
“It’s a rigorous process,” Carlisle said.