Judge Denies Neighbors' Appeal of Suburban Hospital Expansion Decision

Update, 7:30p.m.: Amy Shiman, of the Huntington Terrace Citizens Association, tells Patch the group is "discouraged and disappointed" in the Circuit Court's ruling and is considering an appeal. The group released this statement to Patch:

“Retiring Judge Thomas Craven found reasonable the concerns of residents about Suburban Hospital’s expansion plan, and he stated that if he lived in Huntington Terrace he probably would have opposed the plan himself. However, he found some evidence to support the hospital’s plan and he ruled in its favor. We are disappointed and will consider an appeal of his ruling. We remain hopeful, though, that hospital leadership will meet with HTCA to discuss how it can collaborate with the neighborhood as it moves forward.”

Original Post: Neighbors of have lost an appeal of a decision by the Montgomery Country Board of Appeals to allow the hospital to move forward with an expansion plan that would demolish neighborhood homes and include a large, above-ground parking garage.

Montgomery County Circuit Court judge Thomas Craven denied the appeal Wednesday, according to a statement released by Suburban. It was filed by the Huntington Terrace Citizens Association in January.

In October, the appeals board , but ruled Suburban may remove less than half of the 23 houses it hoped to demolish in order to expand. The removal of the homes and abandonment of a portion of Lincoln Street has become a major point of contention between the hospital and the community.

The October decision was a departure from a June recommendation by then-hearing examiner Francoise Carrier, who now heads the Montgomery County Planning Board. Carrier recommended that the hospital present a revised plan that is "compatible with the neighborhood." Carrier wrote that the demolition of the houses would negatively impact the community.

The $230 million hospital expansion project would add a 300,000 square foot addition on to the hospital along with a nearly 1200-space, 35-foot-tall garage, two stories of which would be underground. The hospital, located at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Lincoln Street, is proposing to build the addition over the Lincoln Street right-of-way and the parking garage near the intersection of Southwick Street and Old Georgetown Road. 

The community has emphasized they support an expansion for the hospital – which hasn’t seen a major upgrade in years and serves an increasingly large and aging population – but want officials to revise their plans to make them more compatible with the surrounding residential community.

“We have always believed that the Montgomery County Board of Appeals made the correct decision to approve Suburban Hospital's application and we are extremely pleased that the Court agreed,” Christopher Doherty, chairman of the Suburban Hospital Board of Trustees, said in a statement. “We look forward to moving ahead with the next steps in advancing this important project for the health of Montgomery County's citizens.”

The Huntington Terrace Citizens Association couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Correction: An earlier version of this article listed the original height of the planned parking garage, which has since changed. The story has been updated to reflect the garage is now planned to be 35 feet tall.