Trustees to address Andersen field issue

Carson-Tahoe Hospital board members will consider today submitting a proposal to develop the Andersen property to Carson City's planning commission for review.

The plan could also be scrapped.

The parcel, surrounded primarily by residential areas, is a lush, irrigated pasture opening to a view of Kings Canyon and the Sierra Nevada. It provides a haven for deer, geese, coyotes, and eagles.

The hospital has had discussions with owner Ira "Andy" Andersen, who has offered to lease or sell the property to the hospital over five years. Carson-Tahoe officials say the acreage could help alleviate the pressure to expand, but the pasture's development has been a problem for neighboring residents.

"I'm disappointed that the neighbors were not notified that there was going to be a meeting of this sort. They say they are conducting an open process, but I'm not seeing that," neighbor Maxine Nietz said.

"If they are starting to come to a conclusion that this project is not in their best interests, I would love to go back to Ira Andersen and talk about the Ira Andersen Park. I would like to see this land remain open space."

She believes leaving the field open is to the hospital's benefit as well. Without that open land, the hospital would have been inundated in the flood of 1997.

"My understanding of the role of the planning commission is to review applications and recommend their approval or denial, and not to review," neighbor Pat Anderson said. He raised the issue of a potential conflict of interest for the hospital's project manager, Roger Sedway, who is a member of the committee.

Carson-Tahoe and Andersen have engaged the services of land planner George Szabo to assist with the discussions between the hospital, Andersen, neighboring land owners and residents.

Szabo's most recent proposals include about 92,400 square foot of office space clustered in four two-story buildings in the center of the parcel, surrounded by 460 parking spaces, and a 50-foot buffer between the parking lot and existing homes. The closest houses would be about 143 feet away from the buildings.

An 8 1/2-foot berm would purportedly insulate residents against the noise and a view of the parking lot.

One of the most glaring issues facing development of the property concerns traffic. A medical facility of this size and scope would generate about 4,500 car trips per day, more than doubling Mountain Streets' present load of about 3,700. Residential development of about 36 houses in this area would generate about 500 trips per day.

The hospital could abandon the idea altogether or proceed with fact finding to the city's planning department. A neighborhood meeting is also scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Brewery Arts Center, 449 W. King St. on Tuesday.

In other business:

- A special strategic planning session concerning affiliation will be held Oct. 18 on the second-floor convention area of the Carson City Nugget. Consultant Jody Hill Mischel of Kaufman Hall will present 10 proposals developed by the affiliation committee to the Board of Trustees and the public. Three of those proposals were submitted from potential affiliates Sutter, Triad, and Universal.

The affiliation committee was created by the hospital's chief executive officer Steve Smith in the latter part of 1998 at the behest of the hospital's Board of Trustees and is made up of four physicians, two hospital employees, two trustees, and Smith.

- Discussions concerning the development of a medical office building at 608 W. Washington St. The site has been purchased, and the master plan shows the site as an office building. Projected capital outlays are estimated at $2 million.

What: Carson-Tahoe Hospital Building, Finance, and Board of Trustees meetings

When: Today. Building Committee meeting at 5:10 p.m., Finance Committee meeting at 6:30 p.m., and Board of Hospital Trustees meeting at 7:55 p.m. All times are approximate.

Where: Juniper Room of the Pinon Plaza Casino Resort, 2171 U.S. 50 East