Aurora to appeal ruling

The Daily Reporter, March 24, 2006

By Joe Grundle
joe.grundle@dailyreporter.com  

Aurora Health Care said it will appeal a Waukesha County Circuit judge ruling that upheld the County Boards rejection of a proposed hospital in the town of Summit.

Judge Mark Gempeler on Thursday dismissed Auroras lawsuit against the county and 21 supervisors over the April 2005 decision to reject the towns rezoning land-use plan that would have allowed Aurora to build an $85 million hospital on the southeast corner of Interstate 94 and Highway 67.

Weve had better days in court, but we are confident that we will prevail, said Jeff Squire, director of communications for Aurora. It was made clear in court that the ultimate decision would have to be made in appeals.

The proposed Aurora hospital site is about three miles from Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital, which is operated by ProHealth Care of Waukesha. Although the County Board did worry that another hospital would raise health care costs in the area, it also cited concerns with the proposed hospitals location in prime real estate, needless loss of taxable land, health care staffing shortages and water availability.

My primary objection to the plan was its location in the center of Pabst Farms, said County Supervisor Keith Harenda, who voted against the rezoning and was a defendant in the lawsuit. The town could not justify making the land a tax-free zone when it should be developed with high-end real estate. If Aurora wants to build its hospital anywhere else, Ill probably support it.

Patricia Haukohl, another county supervisor and defendant, added that the plan failed to demonstrate a strong-enough public need that would warrant rezoning the property to a nontaxable entity.

I was concerned about the towns plan to change the zoning from a taxable category, like industrial, to a nontaxable category, which hospitals fall under, she said.

To do that, they would have to show there is a public need for the hospital, and I didnt feel they did that.

Aurora sued the county over the ruling, claiming that the board overstepped its authority by basing its decision on factors other than land use.

We feel the county is trying to regulate the health care marketplace, as well as protect an existing hospital from competition, Squire said.

But Gempeler ruled Thursday that the countys rejection of the towns rezoning plan was based on legitimate factors other than competition and upheld the decision on that basis.

This is a positive first step for the County Board, said Thomas Farley, corporation counsel for the county. The judge indicated that this was a legal legislative decision and did not see the need to interfere with it. We elect officials to make these decisions.

The ruling showed our legislative branch functions and functions well, Haukohl agreed. We didnt go beyond our scope.

Town of Summit Chairman Len Susa expressed disappointment in the courts decision but expects the town to remain united with Aurora in its appeal.

I think the (county) did something above and beyond (its) authority, said Susa. Theres something wrong here that needs to be fixed. Im quite confident that the Town Board will back another appeal. We have an agreement with Aurora, who is footing the bill, so there is no cost to the taxpayers.

Even if the appeal fails, there is still another way for the Aurora hospital plan to gain approval, and that is for the town of Summit to become incorporated, something it is already attempting to do. According to Susa, the county would then be obligated by statute to adopt the towns master plan.

Susa is for the town incorporating, although he noted that it is not doing so solely for the Aurora hospital but due to recent annexations by neighboring municipalities. He said he has been personally working for incorporation since 1995, long before Aurora arrived on the scene.

Our incorporation has been in the works since the first days of annexation in 2001, said Susa. The town used to be over 30 square miles and now it is under 24. We cant have a budget plan when part of our value can be annexed away at the drop of a hat. We lose revenue from that. We just want control of our own destiny.