Jesus Armas
By Jesús Armas, Government Affairs Liaison
Hello, my name is Jesus Armas. My role with this project is to work with numerous governmental agencies to get the green light to enable Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley to be constructed.
This is an exciting and new experience for me. For three decades, I worked for a number of California cities and was involved in reviewing various projects as they were presented to those cities for approval. In this case, though, my role is reversed, and I’m on the side trying to get a project approved. Definitely a new experience… and quite an eye-opener.
As you learn more about the project, I’m sure you will agree that not only is this project critically important to the community, but is also beautiful. In a nutshell, the project consists of a new hospital and medical office building, and related aesthetic and landscape improvements on the campus. Clearly, it represents a substantial commitment by the Sutter Health organization to Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro and adjoining communities that comprise the Eden Campus area.
A project of this scope and complexity only gets approved after it is thoroughly evaluated by various agencies. Typically, approvals are granted by local government bodies, such as a City Council or County Board of Supervisors. In this instance, however, because a hospital is involved, approvals must also be obtained from the State of California. Each level of government has jurisdiction over different aspects of the project—the State for the hospital, the County for the medical office building.
As part of the evaluation process, it is necessary to identify any potential impacts, such as traffic, noise, etc., associated with the project and to indicate how those impacts will be addressed…or “mitigated.” This assessment is documented through the preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). Once the DEIR is prepared, it is available for public review and comment for a period of 45 days. After the comment periods ends, a second or Final EIR is prepared that responds to all the comments submitted by interested individuals, organizations or agencies. The information contained in the FEIR is intended to help the decision makers, ultimately your elected officials (Board of Supervisors), decide whether or not to approve the project.
Before it even gets to the Board, however, Sutter will be presenting the project to both the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) and the County Planning Commission to gain their input and comments. In fact, Sutter has already attended two meetings of the MAC to obtain feedback and guidance on the project. Sutter is committed to working cooperatively with affected agencies to ensure that the project in its final form is one that we can all take pride in, and reflects positively on the community.
Here are some important dates for you to keep in mind:
- The Draft EIR is expected to be released and available for public review around mid-November, with the comment period lasting until approximately the end of the year.
- The Final EIR will be prepared thereafter.
- It is our goal to have the MAC and County Planning Commission formally consider the project during the first quarter of 2009.
- Assuming we meet this timeframe, the project, including the FEIR, will be considered by the Board of Supervisors next Spring.
I certainly want to hear from you about this project. I invite you to keep returning to this site to get the most current information about the project, and dates for various public meetings. But most of all, I invite you to send me your thoughts, comments and questions about this important community asset.
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7 Comments to “What it Takes to Get Approvals to Build a New Hospital”
I’m a pediatrician in Castro Valley, and our office has been on the hospital grounds–until the new one is built. I’m also a docent at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden, a native plant garden in Tilden Park. I’m very glad to see you’ll be working native plants and water conservation into the design. Good luck!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. All of us on the team are excited about the opportunty to create something special in our community
Do you think you could find a way to proceed with the Eden campus project without destroying acute care services in San Leandro???
Kim, Thank you for your message. The issues around San Leandro Hospital are complex and have been public for several years. The Eden Township Healthcare District and Sutter Health are working on a separate track to find a feasible solution for San Leandro Hospital. This construction project is on a different track, so to speak, in terms of approvals, budgets and oversight. The construction project is the result of California legislation requiring acute care hospitals to meet stringent earthquake standards, and so it is a capital investment by Sutter Health to rebuild the hospital and trauma center, after 12 years of planning. The future of San Leandro Hospital is not determined by the rebuilding of Eden. In an effort to help secure San Leandro Hospital’s future, concerned citizens and the nurses’ union are attempting to stop the rebuilding project by linking the two issues together. We believe that such action puts both hospitals at risk. That said, the issues with San Leandro Hospital require intensive work by many parties to find a successful and immediate solution, without risking the future of the rebuilding project that must be complete by 2013.
The future of San Leandro Hospital is integrally linked and definitely determined by the Eden rebuild project. The Summary of the Proposed Agreement regarding the purchase of San Leandro Hospital in 2004 states SLH was purchased “with the intent SLH would offer acute care inpatient services for aproximately 3 years before converting to actue care inpatient services or other services after the development of the EMC replacement hospital.” This became a necessary related to the requirement by the Model Truama Plan that a hospital operating a trauma center must have a means of accessing the patient to rehabilitation care. A good plan. When Eden destroy and not rebuild Laurel Grove, this mandated finding another spot for rehab. Unfortunately, the building they decided on is already providing vital services to a large community and devastating that to save Sutter the cost of rebuilding their own rehabilitation facility is immoral. Unfortunately not illegal. So stopping the rebuild in an effort to make Sutter complete the rebuild by including their rehabilitation is not risking both projects but ensuring that the overall project provides for the needs both communities rather than providing for one by eliminating the other’s. The reduction of an entire acute inpatient and emergency hospital, the current plan, will increase morbidity and mortality and that is not acceptable.
Ammendment, left a vital word out of the quote above from Summary of agreement.”SLH would offer acute care inpatient hospital services for approxiamtely three years before converting to acute rehailitation or other services after the development of the EMC replacement hospital” Thanks, makes more sense when quoted correctly!
Kim,
Thank you for your messages. Clearly, the Project Team disagrees with your position. I am posting your comments for people to be able to view. The issues around San Leandro Hospital are being discussed in public sessions in an appropriate venue (as were the agreements from 2004 and 2007), and therefore will not be covered here. I will continue to post new stories and links to stories on this topic to help direct anyone interested.