(A) No new hospital shall be developed, either through construction or conversion of existing space or an existing non-city hospital expanded in the city unless a permit therefor has been issued by the City Clerk.
(B) Before developing a facility for use as a licensed hospital or expanding an existing non-city hospital, the person, firm, or corporation proposing to operate the hospital shall apply to the City Clerk for a permit for the facility, which shall be in addition to any other required approvals. The application for permit shall be in such form as the City Clerk shall prescribe and shall include a demonstration of the development or expansion’s probable impact on existing hospital and surgical services in the city, including permitted facilities not yet completed.
(C) The application for permit shall be accompanied by a filing fee equal to 5% of the capital cost of the proposed hospital plus $2,500, with a minimum fee of $3,500 and a maximum fee chargeable hereunder of $50,000. It is intended that the fee charged herein shall be used to cover the costs of the application administration and evaluation by the city staff in an amount of $2,500. In addition, the remainder of the application fee shall be used to pay all costs for a feasibility study, to be conducted by a recognized healthcare industry consulting firm, demonstrating the existence of the matters herein, declared essential for determination by the City Council, prior to the issuance of such a permit, as well as costs of publication and other matters required pursuant to this article. Any portion of the application fee not so expended shall be refunded to the applicant. If it is determined that costs of the feasibility study shall exceed the amount submitted with the application fee, the City Clerk or Business Manager, or his or her designee, shall notify the applicant, in writing. Said applicant shall submit the additional amount requested within ten days or the application shall be stayed until such time as the remainder of the application fee is submitted to the City Clerk.
(D) Within two working days after receipt of the application fee, the City Clerk shall provide the applicant with a notice of receipt and shall present to the Business Manager or his or her designee the application for permit. Within ten days after receiving a completed application for permit, the Business Manager or his or her designee shall cause a paid public notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the hospital or hospital expansion is to be located and in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the application is available for inspection. The notice shall include the name and proposed location of the facility, a brief description of the proposal, information on where the original application can be viewed, and an explanation of how parties may file material to be considered along with the application. The Business Manager or his or her designee shall also request information on the firm conducting the feasibility study, with consideration given to all costs related to said study.
(E) Any person or entity may submit written evidence and argument regarding the proposed hospital to the Business Manager or his or her designee to be reviewed by city staff, the Planning Commission, and Development Commission. Written materials shall be submitted to the Business Manager or his or her designee within 30 days after publication of the paid notice. The Business Manager or his or her designee shall immediately provide these materials to the applicant by certified mail or in person with the applicant signing a receipt. The applicant shall have 15 days after receipt of the materials to respond in writing to materials timely filed by other persons. The Planning Commission and the Development Commission shall be provided with all materials included in the application process described herein prior to a meeting to be held within 60 days of the completion of this process. The application and feasibility study shall be examined by the Planning Commission and Development Commission, who shall make a recommendation to the City Council.
(F) No permit to establish a hospital or expand an existing non-city hospital shall be issued by the City Clerk unless, after reviewing the application, the feasibility study, and timely filed written material and responses, the Business Manager or his or her designee shall provide to the City Council the following findings made by the Planning and Development Commissioners.
(1) The proposed hospital will contribute to the orderly development of hospital and surgical services in the city.
(2) The proposed hospital will not cause an undue financial or staffing hardship on any existing provider of essential hospital or surgical services in the city, including permitted facilities not yet completed, which hardship shall be deemed potentially capable of causing the existing facility to alter its services to such a degree that it will adversely impact the citizens of the city.
(3) The proposed hospital can be adequately served by the city’s existing utility systems and/or infrastructure.
(4) The proposed hospital or existing hospital expansion will not cause an increase in the cost of medical care which would adversely impact the citizens of the city. The findings of the Planning and Development Commissions shall be summarized with appropriate documentation by the Business Manager or his or her designee, with said findings to be provided to the City Council for its consideration in determining the granting or denial of said permit.
(G) The Business Manager or his or her designee shall schedule the application for permit for consideration by the City Council within 150 days after publication of the paid notice. A permit shall be effective for 36 months from the date of issue of the permit, during which time, an applicant shall start construction or conversion work on the hospital or hospital expansion. At the time the building permit is issued, the applicant shall submit a construction schedule to the city. If construction or conversion work is not started within the time required by this section, the permit shall be null and void. The City Council, in approving or denying the application, will consider the recommendation of the Planning and Development Commissions, but only grant or deny the application subsequently to its consideration of those items addressed in subsection (F) above.
(H) In the event the City Council approves the application for permit submitted by the prospective builders, it shall be understood that all existing requirements contained in the Alva Code of Ordinances, dealing with appropriate zoning and building standards, shall be complied with by the permit recipient.
(Prior Code, § 26-84) (Ord. 2014-046, passed 11-3-2014)