'A Real Problem': 3 Doctors Diagnose HdG Zoning Proposal

Doctors said Monday they are concerned about proposed zoning changes that would impact their offices in downtown Havre de Grace.

During a meeting of the Havre de Grace Planning Commission Monday night, three doctors who provided testimony said they were concerned that under the proposal, their buildings would be zoned for residential use.

Louis Silverstein, M.D., who runs a family practice on the 800 block of S. Union Avenue, saw the move as a major shift in character of the area.

"I have a real problem with the destruction of the residential office corridor and its elimination," said Silverstein. "I believe that it's based on an erroneous assumption...that a new hospital is going to be here lickety split."

Silverstein was referencing the construction of a new 250,000-square-foot hospital near Bulle Rock, which was slated to begin in 2016. Its first phase would include 80,000 square feet of medical space and 14,000 square feet for a pharmacy.

Project representatives with Upper Chesapeake said at a Planning Commission meeting in January that they expected buildout by 2025 and were not sure what plans were in place for Harford Memorial Hospital on the 500 block of S. Union Avenue.

"It's my understanding that it's on hold," Silverstein said of the new hospital, due to the pending health care law.

"We haven't heard anything in months," Neal Mills, director of planning for the City of Havre de Grace, said after the meeting.

Regardless, Silverstein said that the potential disappearance of Harford Memorial should not affect the zoning of the existing businesses surrounding it. “I think it’s an erroneous assumption that medical and dental offices require the adjacent presence of a hospital,” said Silverstein.

"...hospitalization has become a last resort," he added. Outpatient programs and the "medical home" have become "the mantras of health care" and "already exist on Union Avenue and adjacent streets," he said.

In the medical home model, a primary care physician coordinates a patient's care, which may encompass a team of providers, the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research states.

“We have a viable medical home" in downtown Havre de Grace, Silverstein said. "My advice is that you maintain the R0 [residential office zoning] the way it is. You allow Upper Chesapeake to do what it wants."

David Jaffe, M.D., who was absent, submitted a letter providing a second opinion. According to the letter, the value of his medical practice on S. Union Avenue would decrease by more than $200,000 should the proposed zoning take effect.

Jaffe pointed out that the influence of doctors' offices was not contained to the buildings where they were located. He said he has 11 staff members, approximately 8,000 patients a year and, "I am often asked, 'This is such a lovely town, what do you advise we do here? Where should we eat?...'" wrote Jaffe.

"It is important to recognize how much business the medical community drives into downtown establishments," Jaffe wrote.

On top of providing business for the downtown merchants, medical offices provide more revenue for the City of Havre de Grace than individual homeowners, Silverstein added.

"Residential office [spaces] give you a higher tax base than residential," Silverstein said. "You're going to reduce your tax base."

Urologist James Song, M.D., was the first of the 15 people who spoke at Monday's meeting, and he was also the last. The doctor's first question was about what would happen if he sold his property on Alliance Street if the zoning change went through. He was told that it could remain residential office space as long as its use didn't change, since current zoning regulations would be "grandfathered" into the new ordinance.

By the end of the meeting, Song raised additional concerns.

"It reduces your tax base, it basically inhibits people from coming into Havre de Grace and using the businesses," Song said of changing the medical district's zoning to residential. "It doesn’t affect the ambience of the street; it looks pretty good as it is. Then why are you doing it?" Song asked.

"That's why you're here tonight. You're here to influence us," Planning Commission Chair Volney Ford said. He explained the group was not holding its Monday meeting to have a dialogue but wanted to hear from citizens before reviewing the proposal, which was devised by citizens and council members over the past three years.

"We’re charged to look at what's already been drafted...and to advise the council about creating things that could be improved or changed," Ford said. "It's strictly an advisory role."

Others who spoke at Monday's meeting addressed "anti-business" changes in zoning, the creation of an agricultural zone, assisted living and cemetery zoning on Grace View Drive, formatting the zoning documents and publicity of the zoning meetings.

More Meetings Coming Up

A series of public meetings will occur in the next few weeks to drill down into specific zones. Citizens may speak at those meetings as well. The full list of meetings is below. All will be held at 7 p.m. at City Hall (711 Pennington Ave.) in Havre de Grace.

Aug. 14: RB1, RB2, WF zones
Aug. 22: R1E, R2E, RO zones
Aug. 26: R1W, R2W, R, AG zones
Sept. 9: C, I, MOE zones
Sept. 23: Uses, lots, definition
TBD: Additional workshop if needed