Officials reject proposed zone swap for hospital

Two council members said they opposed the issue.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Salem Community Hospital will start over on plans for a new dialysis center after city officials rejected a zone change.
Howard Rohleder, the hospital's chief executive officer, had told the city planning and zoning commission that it would be the landlord for the $650,000 facility that would increase the number of patients treated there.
The hospital may look elsewhere in the city or at property it owns in Columbiana, he said.
The hospital wanted property on East Third Street rezoned from residential to commercial.
The zoning board voted against the request after area residents complained about possible losses of their homes' property values and the potential for increased traffic and noise.
Had the measure been approved, it would have gone to a joint meeting of council and the planning and zoning commission for more consideration.
But Councilman Greg Oesch, whose 3rd Ward includes the area, and Councilman-at-large Clyde Brown, said they opposed it.
Resident reactions
Steven and Marilyn Ward own two properties and live immediately east of the proposed site.
"It doesn't have to be there," Steven Ward said.
He said maintaining the residential area was needed to maintain a thriving community. Removing the protective residential zoning would be the same as removing a "cherished value," he added.
James Harrison of North Union Avenue said he had been involved in zoning in Illinois for 25 years before moving to Salem.
Harrison told the panel said he did not think the proposal was for the best use of the property, which he said is the first consideration of zoning.
"There are better places for it," Harrison said.
There are some vacant commercial properties in the city on the east side of the city. Rohleder said that because of the technology used in the unit, it would be easier to build a new facility than to alter a current one.
wilkinson@vindy.com