Proposed expansions at VHC Health are returning to the Arlington County Board after community concerns led officials to postpone making a decision last month.
A requested site plan amendment would allow for the expansion of several units in the hospital, including the Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Department and Cardiac Cathlab. In a presentation last month, VHC Health particularly highlighted the benefits of increased ER capacity as well as improvements to behavioral health care.
A planned separate entrance to the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, for instance, would increase security within the unit and reduce the need for police officers to wait with patients in the emergency room before returning to regular duties.
“Implementing a CPEP will allow VHC Health to improve continuity of care,” a VHC Health representative said. “It will also serve as a catalyst for community education and stigma reduction around mental health issues.”
The site plan amendment would add a total of 17,015 square feet to VHC Health’s gross floor area along on N. George Mason Drive, and would result in the removal of nine of the hospital’s existing 3,709 parking spaces.
“This expansion will primarily be in the ‘Tower’ building on the southeast corner of the site where the applicant is requesting to expand the corner of the building, by adding three levels on top of the existing structure and pushing out the façade on the ground floor within a portion of the existing overhang area,” a county report says. “The applicant is also requesting to expand the Sterile Processing Center within the parking garage.”
Residents of neighborhoods near the hospital, particularly Halls Hill, have raised concerns about the impacts of construction and increased capacity at the N. George Mason Drive facility, as well as potential light pollution and obstructed views. A motion to defer a decision on the site plan passed in a 4-1 County Board vote last month, with Chair Libby Garvey dissenting.
In the interim, Board members asked VHC Health to conduct additional outreach and directed county staff to provide more information on administrative changes to the site plan over the past several years.
Vice-Chair Takis Karantonis said last month that he wants to ensure community members feel that someone is listening and responding to their concerns.
“This is… about the sensitivity we show when something really affects a community, that has generated significant amounts of input from the public,” he said.
The hospital changes are is listed as an action item on the Board’s agenda for this month.
The county report contains a summary of county staff meetings and written communications with the John M. Langston, Tara-Leeway Heights and Waycroft-Woodlawn civic associations, an extensive timeline of past Board actions and responses to questions about local impacts.
“Staff has evaluated the concerns express and included proposed conditions, where appropriate, to mitigate community concerns,” the report says. “Staff has met with civic association leaders on multiple occasions and hosted an evening virtual meeting to discuss this minor site plan amendment. Staff has concluded that the proposed [additions] are not anticipated to be detrimental or injurious to the neighborhood and surrounding properties.”
