By Sallie James
A 900-car garage will eventually ease the parking crunch at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, despite nearby homeowners’ concerns about noise, pollution and crime.
City Council members last month unanimously voted to move the project forward after agreeing to require that the structure be situated 40 feet farther from the homes, with additional landscaping and façade improvements to limit light “spillage.”
“It wasn’t brought up too much, but if it was to be a hospital tower, it could actually be far, far taller, a more intensive use and closer,” Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers told a group of worried residents who attended the May 23 council meeting.
The 50-foot-tall structure is proposed for the south side of the hospital, at 800 Meadows Road across from the Tunison Palms neighborhood and Spanish Oaks Condominium.
The proposal called for the structure to be built closer to the nearby single-family homes than city code allowed, reducing the original setback from the Tunison Palms neighborhood from 250 feet to 100 feet. Council members increased the reduced setback to 140 feet to ease homeowners’ concerns.
Colleen White, president of the board of directors of the Spanish Oaks Condominium Association, urged council members to consider the ill effects a parking garage could have on the area before moving forward.
“Approval of this . . . will allow a structure that affects our quality of life and peaceful enjoyment,” White said. “There will be noise 24/7 from that parking garage and increased criminal activity. I feel that will bring it right into our condo. Think about it before you approve it.”
Homeowner Krista Maki, who lives in Tunison Palms, asked council members to consider alternative locations before approving the parking garage. She suggested the council consider moving the structure farther north.
Hospital CEO Jerry Fedele has acknowledged the conflict between the hospital’s dire need for additional parking and residents’ concerns about noise and appearance.
“I recognize the concerns of the community and I met with the community three times. We will do everything we can do to make the façade as pretty as we can and add landscaping. You can’t have a really sophisticated hospital that is doing the great things we are without having parking.”
Attorney Bonnie Miskel said city code would have allowed the hospital to build a 150-foot-tall office building or hospital tower in the same place, but hospital officials knew the impact would be much worse. They proposed the 50-foot garage instead. She noted that the existing 250-foot setback and the reduced 140-foot setback are more generous than any other commercial/residential pairing in the city.
Miskel said the hospital cannot accommodate the needs of patients during the season and needs more parking.
Council member Andrea O’Rourke said the hospital’s request was reasonable.
“It’s stopping a much larger medical tower from being in your backyard. We made some really good changes. I certainly do not disagree with the need for more parking at the hospital,” O’Rourke said.
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