Attempts to redevelop portions of the Vail Valley Medical Center (VVMC) have been underway for most of the past five years. In conjunction with these attempts, adjacent property owners have requested that a long-term master plan for the VVMC be prepared and adopted by the Town of Vail. The most current version of the VVMC Proposed Master Plan is presently under review by the Town of Vail Planning and Environmental Commission (PEC). Both the Town of Vail and the Evergreen Hotel have expressed interest in redeveloping their sites which are adjacent to the VVMC campus. The Town of Vail had prepared a joint redevelopment Master Plan for its site in conjunction with a VVMC effort to use a portion of the Town municipal site for a medical office building, which was subsequently abandoned.

 

The Vail Homeowners Association (VHA) has participated on behalf of its members in the public review of the various versions of both the VVMC and TOV Master Plans. VHA advocates that public safety issues, with respect to both vehicular and emergency helicopter traffic need to be resolved in the master planning for all three sites. Specifically, VHA desires all VVMC vehicular traffic be removed from Vail Road and West Meadow Drive and relocated to a new access on the South Frontage Road. Secondly, that medical helicopters do not overfly occupied structures in the community, but instead fly over Interstate 70, accessing the community's emergency helipad at its current location or at a new location on the Town's municipal site, which gives timely and direct access to the VVMC emergency care facilities via a new sky bridge over the South Frontage Road, and additionally, that surrounding neighborhoods are shielded from the takeoff, landing and idling noise associated with the helipad. Thirdly, that VVMC make other necessary improvements consistent with those required of other new developments located in similar circumstances between East & West Meadow Drive and the South Frontage Road.

 

The Evergreen Hotel has been seeking a "land exchange" with VVMC for some time. Recently VVMC and the Evergreen Hotel agreed to have serious discussions about a potential exchange. If the exchange were to occur, it would give VVMC a much larger exposure along the South Frontage Road, enabling it to potentially attain compliance with the public safety improvements advocated by VHA and neighboring property owners.

 

The VVMC Proposed Master plan is nearing completion of its review by the PEC. VHA is submitting detailed language to amend the VVMC Proposed Master plan to include the goals desired by VHA and neighborhood property owners.

 

Recently, VVMC has requested that it be given permission to proceed through the final review for the West Wing expansion, the next phase of redevelopment. The VVMC request opens the prospect of beginning construction in the spring of 2015. Some are of the opinion that VVMC has a history of agreeing to certain improvements as a condition of approval by the Town of Vail for earlier buildings, but not completing the improvements and seeking to alter the agreed upon conditions in subsequent development applications.

 

The Vail Homeowners Association recommends that VVMC not be given permission to proceed with construction expanding the West Wing until it enters into a contractual agreement (Developer Improvement Agreement) giving financial guarantees that it will complete the improvements stipulated in an adopted master plan. Such an approach was used by the Town in their ongoing negotiation with Vail Resorts concerning the Ever Vail development in West Lionshead. The Town Council will consider proceeding with VVMC's West Wing Conditional Use Permit Application at their 6:00 pm Evening Meeting Tuesday, December 16th.

 

Because the condition for approving the VVMC Proposed Master Plan may be changed through a subsequent land exchange or related improvements on either the Town of Vail or Evergreen Hotel site, a provision to amend the Plan should also be included. The amendment provision should not preclude adjacent and affected property owners from initiating an amendment to the VVMC Master Plan.