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Hospital just one aspect of a coordinated plan
Some critics are worried about added traffic, maintenance cost
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Published: July 4, 2009
CLEMMONS - When Clemmons Council members vote July 13 on Novant Inc.'s proposed site plan for its new hospital in Clemmons, they will be considering much more than the land for the hospital.
The hospital would be part of a 124-acre campus, connecting through a network of back roads that bring together a public lake surrounded by greenways, a new elementary school, and space for retail and housing.
The idea was to create what Clemmons planners have long wanted for the area -- a well-planned development with a consistent look and lots of green space, said Karen Bartoletti, a vice president for Forsyth Medical Center.
"It has a campus feel rather than a lot of piecemeal development," she said.
The plan was unanimously recommended for approval by the Clemmons Planning Board last month, and Village Planner Megan Ledbetter believes that it's a comprehensively designed plan for the area at Harper Road and Interstate 40.
But some people in Clemmons are worried about how the vast plan will transform what is now a quiet, mostly undeveloped tract of land.
Council Member Al Harbury said that the site is a "wonderful opportunity for Clemmons." But he also said that he is concerned about how the development will affect traffic in the area and how the village will pay to maintain the lake.
Novant is paying for a new dam on the lake and donating the 17-acre waterway to the village. That represents a Novant investment of almost $3 million, Bartoletti said.
Harbury said he has tried to get an answer from village officials about how much upkeep of the lake will cost taxpayers.
"The cost numbers have been very fragmentary," he said.
The intersection of Harper and Peace Haven roads is not part of the site, but is enough of a problem even now that planners know it will have to be addressed as the project proceeds.
Ledbetter said as traffic increases, the intersection may become a four-way stop. But as the final build-out of the project gets closer, a longer-term solution will be required.
That means either a traffic signal or roundabout, with a roundabout being the village's preferred choice. Ledbetter and Bartoletti said the village and Novant are in negotiations to share the costs of making the improvement to the intersection when the time comes for a permanent fix.
There also are concerns about traffic flow at the new elementary school.
Until the second phase of the project is developed and the spine road behind the school is built, there will be only one short roadway off of Harper Road to provide an entrance to the school.
School officials have acknowledged that back-ups are likely to occur at arrival and dismissal times. They have submitted a three-page plan with the village detailing how school staff members will direct traffic and school buses during those times, which could include staggering the release of students.
Ledbetter said that the spine road will move school traffic more smoothly, but until then, the plan submitted by the school system is an acceptable alternative.
The council also will be voting on a request by Novant to increase the maximum height of the building on the hospital tract to 80 feet from 60 feet.
Shari Coburn -- who often speaks on planning issues at council meetings and who is planning to run for a seat on the council in November -- said that the project goes beyond what planners had devised for the area.
"The hospital was sold to us as a small community hospital. Now they apply for an 80-foot text amendment," she said. "That represents a big change."
Novant officials argue that the building must be taller because of the sloping nature of the land where the hospital will go and to give them room to put heating and air-conditioning equipment on the top of the hospital.
Although the land for the hospital is set aside on a tract on the site plan, the specific plans for the building have not been submitted.
Bartoletti said that Novant is waiting for the results of the rezoning process before proceeding with designs for the hospital.
Harbury said that the positives of the plan appear to outweigh the negatives, but he will not decide how to vote until the July 13 meeting. If approved, the council will need to keep an eye on the development to make sure any problems are addressed, he said.
"I would be accepting it with my eyes wide open," Harbury said.
The hospital was proposed nearly two years ago, in September 2007, about the same time that Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center proposed a similar community hospital about 4 miles away in Advance.
Novant and Wake Forest Baptist have waged an intense battle for local support, and both have earned conditional approval from the state on their proposed hospitals.
Baptist, however, has appealed the approval given to Novant. State officials are expected to rule by late summer or the fall on that appeal.
■ Paul Garber can be reached at 727-7327 or at pgarber@wsjournal.com.
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