Zoning Board: Second Real Estate Appraiser Testifies

A real estate appraiser told the zoning board Monday that an expert witness who testified on behalf of Overlook Hospital underestimated the impact of the hospital's proposed helipad on nearby home values.

Matthew Krauser, an appraiser for 16 years, offered his opinion on the previous testimony and report of Robert Heffernan, another real estate appraiser who testified at an earlier hearing on behalf of Overlook Hospital.

In addition to Krauser's testimony in the continued hearing on Overlook's variance application to build a helipad on the roof of the hospital's C-wing, five of the six residents with legal representation got to testify Monday night as well as one member of the public.

And for the first time in recent months, members of the board voiced serious concerns over an element to this case: the issue of whether or not the zoning board would retain any jurisdiction over the helipad's use after an approval to enforce conditions or if federal pre-emption would take effect in this case. Zoning board attorney Dennis Galvin said he would be making his opinion on this matter known to the board at the May 17 meeting and asked both Bart Sheehan, representing Overlook, and Jay Delaney and Michael Kates, representing several opposing neighbors, to submit their comments on the matter by then as well.

Krauser testified that in his professional opinion, the study done by Robert Heffernan and the testimony given on this report several months ago were questionable.

The sample sizes in the study were too small, Krauser said, as well as there being too many variables to accurately do a paired sales comparison.

"I can't see how Mr. Heffernan came to the conclusions that he derived at," Krauser said. "His sampling was too small."

Krauser also said that he professionally disagreed with Heffernan's opinion that a seller would not have to disclose the helipad in a seller's disclosure statement.

"You can't know about the problem and not disclose it to a potential buyer," he said.

Krasuer did not produce his own written report however, he explained, because he felt it was cost prohibitive to the residents. He agreed to examine Heffernan's report and if he agreed with it he would not testify.

John Ruffley, of 48 Michigan Avenue, was also called to testify about his experience with current helicopter landings near his home at the Family Aquatic Center and Celegene.

"The dogs bark, the house shakes, the lights go," he said. "This is not a minor event."

But what many have been waiting for was an opportunity to hear from the residents. That process began Monday with Hans Mikkelsen, Peter Graham, Andy Gottesman, Kelly Deere and her husband Lee Shavel, all with legal representation. The residents all testified about the reasons they are asking the zoning board to reject this application.

"When you weigh the impacts to the neighborhood and you weigh the medical benefits, I think it's very complicated," Mikkelsen said.

All five cited safety concerns, property value concerns and a general feeling that the patients that would be served by helicopter use are being adequately treated by alternative measures.

"I never expected in any imagination, and I am not naive person, that I would ever see a helicopter landing in the middle of Summit," Graham said, adding that if he had known the hospital would be building a helipad he would not have bought his home on Oak Ridge Avenue.

All of the residents who testified said they do not want to stand in the way of someone else's treatment, but all seemed to have a general distrust of Overlook's motivations for building a helipad.

"I don't believe Overlook is being totally honest about its motivations," Graham said. "It's not being honest with itself. The fact of the matter is it's about maximizing their investments."

Gottesman expressed a similar sentiment saying he is proud to have a top notch medical facility such as Overlook in Summit and noted his family's previous involvement with the Overlook foundation but added that in this instance, he felt the negative effects on the community outweighed the medical benefits.

"I find my community more important than this application," he said.

Pat Hurley had the honor of being the first resident allowed to speak during the public comments portion of the hearing. Hurley, a resident on Ashland Road, is a former Navy helicopter pilot and still flies recreationally today.

Hurley said he came before the board to express air traffic control and safety concerns, primarily over a point of clarification from PHI pilot Steven Masi's testimony at the end of last year.

Hurley said there could only be at times a 50 foot vertical clearance between the low altitude range for controlled airspace over Summit and the maximum altitude of the uncontrolled airspace helicopters fly in.

"From a safety perspective in that what I know about airspace procedures, I think we're setting up an unsafe situation," he said.

The zoning board will continue hearing this case Tuesday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. at city hall.