Hoag Given OK for $13.5-Million Cancer Center Despite Opposition

Construction of a $13.5-million cancer treatment center by Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has been given the go-ahead by the Newport Beach City Council over the objections of nearby residents.

The unanimous approval Monday night upheld an earlier Planning Commission decision, which had been appealed by the Villa Balboa Community Assn. Residents of the condominium complex had protested that their ocean views would be obstructed by the new building and further complained that the project would cause security and traffic problems.

Peter Foulke, Hoag senior vice president, said the hospital must now receive approval from the California Coastal Commission before construction can begin in the spring.

Largest in County?

The three-story, 50,000-square-foot building will provide cancer treatment on an outpatient basis, using state-of-the art radiation equipment and drug therapy, in addition to offering counseling, research facilities and other services, Foulke said. It is expected to open in mid-1988 and apparently will be the largest cancer treatment facility in Orange County.

St. Joseph Hospital in Orange is constructing a 25,000-square-foot center, which is expected to open next summer. The two-story, $6-million building will likewise offer high-tech, state-of-the-art radiation treatment and other therapy to cancer victims, hospital spokeswoman Valerie Orleans said.

The Hoag facility will be constructed on now-vacant bluffs between the hospital and Coast Highway and will be connected to the hospital by a covered walkway, Foulke said. Although the center will have beds to monitor patients, none will spend the night, he said. If patients require overnight care, they will be admitted to the hospital.

“The whole idea is to take all the state-of-the-art modalities for treating cancer, short of surgery, and put them in one location so that a patient can see a physician and get treatment and counseling all in one location,” Foulke said.

Hoag, he said, attracts about 2,000 new cancer patients a year, the largest patient load of any hospital in the county. Cancer afflicts an older population, he said, “and we’re in an area that’s aging.” The center, which will include research facilities, is expected to be a “regional draw,” he said.

The building was designed to be burrowed into the coastal bluff so that it will not block ocean views, he said, adding that the top of the building will be “just a few feet higher” than the bluff. Nearby residents will see the top of the building but will also retain their ocean views, Foulke said.

But nearby residents are not appeased.

Clara Laidlaw, president of the Villa Balboa homeowners association, said the hospital’s construction plans violate the land-use element and local coastal plan, which set the bluffs area aside for “recreational and environmental open space.” The cancer center “will definitely” affect the bicycle trail and the public view from the bluff area, she added. She pointed out that the condominium developers were restricted from infringing upon the area and charged that it is unfair that the hospital should be allowed to do so.

Security Problem Alleged

In addition, the additional traffic and proximity of the cancer center to Villa Balboa and a second condominium complex will compromise the security of the homes, she said.

While the association’s appeal did not address the issue of the individual homeowners’ ocean views, Laidlaw said she is sympathetic to the residents’ complaints that they will lose their prized vistas.

“Some people paid in excess of $60,000 or $70,000 for that view,” she said. Losing it to the cancer center, she said, “is like making a donation to Hoag.”