FAIR GAME:

Some of my friends from Hoag Hospital visited me this past week to bring me up to date on their expansion plans moving forward into the next decade.

Their latest request now before the Newport Beach Planning Commission calls for the approval to “receive the flexibility to transfer 225,000 square feet of building entitlement from the current lower campus to the upper campus.”

Simply put, Hoag Hospital today has the right to build nearly 400,000 square feet in the area of their campus closest to Pacific Coast Highway. The hospital’s request is to take 225,000 square feet of that “approved” 400,000 square feet and move it up to the area where the two towers now stand.

Sounds simple enough.

Ah, but not so fast. There are neighbors to the west. Villa Balboa condominiums think this is a good time to bring up some other concerns that are bothering them.

Remember now, Hoag was built in the ’50s and Villa Balboa not until the ’70s.

It reminds me of the homeowner who buys the house on the block that backs up to a school. As a result, he gets his house a little cheaper than his neighbors across the street because of that school. He then complains about the noise from the kids on the playground.

With Hoag, the Villa Balboa residents are complaining about a co-generation plant on the bottom western tip of the lower campus that produces 80% of the hospital’s energy.

I remind you, the energy plant has nothing to do with Hoag’s request before the Planning Commission. The neighbors there simply don’t like the water vapor that comes from the plant several times a day.

Their complaining is sort of their way to hold Hoag hostage in the hospital’s attempts to move forward.

They also have another issue, that of noise. On that front, too, Hoag officials have appeared to attempt to be a good neighbor.

They’ve met with the residents. They’ve discussed a sound wall to insulate them, and they’ve offered to study the effect of double-paned glass Hoag would buy and install.

Still, the neighbors complain.

On another front, there is a request that Hoag Hospital would be responsible for “a $3 million development fee paid to the City” as another part of the agreement.

This $3 million would be divided two ways: first, $1.5 million would go toward road improvements. The two areas mentioned would be for improvements already completed on Newport Boulevard and the other for future improvements down Superior Avenue.

Notice, I said improvements already completed on Newport Boulevard. That means they’ve found the money already somewhere else.

The other half of the $3 million would go into a discretionary account. The City Council can spend it wherever and whenever they please.

So let me see if I have this right. The city is going to take $3 million from a hospital that has gained a national reputation of excellence.

To get this reputation, many, many people have donated millions and millions of dollars.

But that still wasn’t enough. So Hoag goes out and works hard putting on such events as the Christmas Carol Ball, Circle 1000, the Newport Beach Breakers tennis team and, of course, their signature event, the Toshiba Classic.

So what does $3 million mean to Hoag you ask?

Good question. Go to the head of the line.

Well, here’s the answer. Imagine the benefactor of the Toshiba Classic to be the city of Newport Beach for the next three years. That’s right, the next three years.

To me, it really doesn’t have the same ring.

I say we cut Hoag Hospital some slack. It provides all of this community and many surrounding communities the opportunity to save lives.

To me it’s simple. I want Hoag Hospital to be there for me when it’s my turn.

You should, too.

TOM JOHNSON is the publisher. Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at (714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to [email protected].