Wednesday, August 07, 2013
 
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Lincoln City Council clears the way for ALMH subdivision

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[August 07, 2013]  If all continues to go well, folks traveling Lincoln Parkway south of Woodlawn Road may soon see a new construction project going on near Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital.

On Monday night the hospital received final plat approval from the Lincoln City Council for the construction of a 40-bed assisted living center to be built on the south side of the drive that goes to the hospital.

The request for plat approval went before the Lincoln Planning Commission on July 25. During that meeting, commission members were given information about the request by John Lebegue, city zoning officer.

Lebegue explained the location of the plat and talked about how the south-side parcel of land would be divided into three plots, with the new facility occupying the center or second parcel.

During discussions, questions arose about the wetland area adjacent to the building site, the high moisture content in that area and how the infrastructure would be built to accommodate emergency vehicles.

Lebegue said the engineers for the project were aware of the water issues and would work that all out. In regard to the infrastructure and emergency vehicles, he said the project had not reached the phase where that would be addressed, but he was confident it would be done properly.

One issue that came up regarding the build was the use of the east plot. Lebegue said that area would have to be set aside as access to the vacant land to the immediate south. He explained that the Illinois Department of Transportation will allow no more accesses to be constructed on Lincoln Parkway, so the hospital will have to provide access to that property, formerly owned by Harold Goodman.

He told the commission that the new facility the hospital is hoping to build will be a good fit with the city's west side as well as with the hospital campus.

On Monday evening, Lebegue presented the commission's decision to the city council, saying it had been approved by unanimous vote.

He also gave them a memorandum with details regarding the plat and planned construction, maps of the current site, and the location of the proposed new facility.

Below are excerpts from the memorandum:

(Copy)

SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:

Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital has filed a petition seeking Preliminary Plat Approval and Final Plat Approval for a Major Subdivision of land to the south of the ALMH Hospital at 200 Stahlhut Drive. When the ALMH Hospital was developed, the property was divided into three tracts, with the main hospital tract being Tract 1 and comprising 35.77 acres, the Springfield Clinic professional building being Tract 3 and comprising 1.35 acres and the vacant land to the south of Stahlhut Drive being Tract 2 and comprising 17.38 acres. The proposed Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital Subdivision will divide the existing Tract 2 into three lots, with a proposed assisted living facility being developed in the newly created Lot 2.

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The ALMH Subdivision of Tract 2 proposes the creation of the following lots:

Lot 1: Lot 1 is the far easterly lot that is adjacent to Lincoln Parkway and would possess 5.08 acres. An access and utility easement is being created on the west side of Lot I to provide access to the Goodman parcel located to the south of the proposed subdivision. ALMH gained ownership of the Goodman parcel at the time the hospital was being developed and since IDOT will not permit any further access from Lincoln Highway, access from Stahlhut Drive is the only feasible means to gain access to the landlocked Goodman parcel.

Lot 2: Lot 2 is the next westerly lot and would possess 7.6 acres and is the site of the proposed 40 bed, assisted living facility. Lot 2 can be directly accessed off of Stahlhut Drive and no other roadway must be created to access the parcel. Timber Creek Village and The Glenwood Communities is in the process of preparing development plans for the proposed assisted living facility, which in the opinion of staff is a very complimentary and appropriate use for the newly created Lot 2. A copy of the preliminary Site Plan for assisted living facility has been attached to provide a prospective of what will soon be constructed on the property.

Lot 3: Lot 3 is the far westerly lot and possesses 4.7 acres. Since Stahlhut Drive does not extend fully to the frontage of Lot 3, an access and utility easement is being created to provide future access to Lot 3.

During discussion by the council, Jonie Tibbs asked about the soil moisture content, recalling that the area was "soupy" a lot of the time. It was mentioned that ALMH had built a retention pond along Lincoln Parkway, and that served to collect drainage from the wet soils. Lebegue said the project engineers will use that same pond to provide drainage for this project.

Lebegue also told the council that building plans are under development now and he expects to be seeing those in the near future.

When the motion seeking approval of the final plat came to a vote, it passed unanimously with a vote of 7-0. Alderman Bruce Carmitchel was absent for the evening.

[By NILA SMITH]

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