Round two goes before City Council

Yesterday, a group of protesters lined McBean Parkway in front of Henry Mayo Hospital and held signs exclaiming their opposition to the proposed Henry Mayo Master Plan for Expansion.

Some of the signs read “Hospital yes, office space no.”

The group of citizens, called Smart Growth SCV, have long been active in opposing the plan, which they say is an “all or nothing plan” which includes a massive build out of medical office buildings to go along with a proposed new hospital building.

Henry Mayo has called the plan necessary to continue to serve the residents of Santa Clarita.  

Two weeks ago, the issue made its debut before the Santa Clarita City Council and brought with it hours of public comment and many questions by the council members.

Tonight, the issue will come back for continued discussion, and Smart Growth SCV is hoping the issue gets a continuance again, until all of the answers sought by the council members are answered.

Such items brought up at the last council meeting include Laurene Weste’s call for a specific guarantee that a hospital will be built. No such guarantee currently exists. She also called for a host of planning changes to be looked into, including removing another parking structure, and several aesthetic changes.

Mayor Marsha McLean asked for further work to be done by the independent consultants hired. The consultants report failed to include certain comparisons to other hospitals’ height and their surrounding neighborhoods. That was a condition she said she specifically asked for before the study was done.