University not giving up yet

Despite a setback Monday night at City Council, University Health Care System said it still has plans for a medical complex in Aiken.

At Monday's standing-room only meeting, Council unanimously denied University's request to build a medical office complex on Silver Bluff Road, with Council saying they were concerned that it would bring too much additional traffic to an already congested area.

Andy Lasser, executive vice president of business development at University, said on Tuesday that officials there are looking into their options and still want to build in Aiken. They'll be looking into ways to relieve some of the potential traffic issues since that was the reason for denying the zoning change, he said.

Speaker after speaker Monday night spoke of the traffic problems the 72,000-square-foot complex would cause. A few addressed another concern - allowing another hospital to have a presence in Aiken could hurt Aiken Regional Medical Centers by luring patients to the Augusta hospital.

Council members sided with the people worried about traffic and unanimously voted down University's request.

"I really have no problem with University Hospital coming to Aiken, but that was not the place for it," City Councilman Dick Smith said Tuesday.

Smith said while the traffic study provided by University found that the complex would not have a major impact on the traffic in the area, he disagrees.

"Yes, traffic right in front of it is at an acceptable level, but at Pine Log and Dougherty and then at Town Creek and near Woodside - both of those areas are rated at an 'E' level."

According to traffic studies of the area, using the site as a medical complex will actually generate substantially less traffic than the current plan for the site. That information was part of what was submitted to Council members, but some said they didn't believe it and questioned the traffic study because it was paid for by University as part of its application to the City.

When a traffic study was conducted for the previous developer in 2005, it concluded that with the mixed-use development proposed, the affected roads would operate at a "D" level of service or higher.

"Anyone who thinks a 72,000-square-foot office complex is not going to generate a lot more traffic is wrong," said City Councilwoman Jane Vaughters.

She said the impact the proposal would have on the neighboring communities weighed heavy on her decision to deny the plan, as well as the additional traffic.

"The traffic in that area is terrible. You've got to use common sense in these situations," Vaughters said.

The area is across from Centre South Shopping Center in a planned commercial zone on the site of a former mobile home park. University owns the 7.5 acres between Glass Place and King Edward Way.

Plans call for three buildings. The first phase would be a 12,000-square-foot medical office building. Two other buildings would be built later as demand grows.

In a letter to the City Council dated Jan. 20, City Manager Roger LeDuc addressed questions about traffic from the medical complex.

A traffic report from 2005 said the mixed use would create 3,850 trips, while the medical offices would generate 2,730 trips - about 20 percent fewer.

City Councilman Dick Dewar said he doesn't think Silver Bluff Road can withstand the traffic the complex would bring right now.

"It would just create too much traffic. I would support projects on Silver Bluff Road when I think the road can handle it," he said.

City Councilwoman Beverly Clyburn agreed. "I trust the person that did the traffic study, but realistically, what I was being told by the study didn't match with what I was seeing when traveling that road," she said.

That area of Silver Bluff is dotted with medical offices, including doctors, assisted living centers, dentists and other services. Aiken Regional is building a similar medical complex in the Villages at Woodside, a few miles away.

Though City Council members denied the plan, it was approved unanimously by City Planning Commissioners in December.

Planning Chairman Bill Reynolds said his board was satisfied that University's concept plan met the requirements. But he cautioned that the City Council has to take a broader look at any request.

The Council, being a political entity, has to look at how any request will impact the community, not just whether it meets all of the zoning ordinance requirements, according to Reynolds.

"If you're on Council, you have to make decisions on the information you have," said Dewar. "You always have to look at the big picture."

Lasser said that, for now, they will leave the large sign at the front of the property that announces the complex and lists the doctors who would have offices there.

Aside from the traffic and community impact, what else factored in City Council members’ decision Monday? The Aiken Standard contacted Council members Tuesday to discuss their votes. Here are their responses:

“It was probably lobbied by University Hospital, too; I heard from people on both sides. In the end, I personally vote for what I think is best for the City, and I think the other Council members do the same.” – City Councilman Dick Smith

“A lot of people tried to give us information; I don’t mind that. I heard from some people, not as many as other Council members ... but some. But that is not how I made my decision. I don’t have the right as a City Council member to say what businesses can or cannot come into Aiken.” – City Councilwoman Jane Vaughters

“It was clear that Aiken Regional did not want the project built, and I did receive e-mails from people employed by Aiken Regional Medical Centers. Most of the e-mails I got were against it, but it did not weigh in my decision – it really didn’t. That’s not the decision that I want to make; it’s a slippery slope when you do that.” – City Councilman Dick Dewar

“I am known for not being persuaded and voting by my own conscience. The traffic impact was the deciding factor for me.” – City Councilwoman Lessie Price

“I am not in the City Council business of protecting a business from competition; that’s not my role.” – City Councilwoman Beverly Clyburn

Note: Mayor Fred Cavanaugh and City Councilman Don Well were not able to be reached at press time.