The Town of Summit and Aurora Health Care vs. Waukesha County
The Town of Summit and Aurora Health Care filed a lawsuit against
Waukesha County and 21 county supervisors in May 2005. The following is a
summary of the case. Overview
Aurora Health Care contracted to purchase land in the Town of Summit for
the purpose of building a hospital and clinic. Town officials unanimously
approved the required land use and zoning changes, but the Waukesha County
Board then rejected the project. The Town of Summit and Aurora filed a
lawsuit challenging the county's decision, charging that county supervisors
had acted to protect ProHealth Care Inc. from competition and to regulate
the health care market in Waukesha County, in violation of Wisconsin law.
Chronology of events
Aurora agrees to buy land:
In 2003 Aurora Health Care reached an agreement with the developers of Pabst
Farms to purchase 53 acres of land for the purpose of building a hospital.
The land is at the southeast corner of I-94 and Highway 67 in the Town of
Summit. Aurora announces plans:
On April 20, 2004, the physicians of Aurora Wilkinson Medical Clinic held a
news conference to announce plans for construction of an 88-bed community
hospital and clinic on the Town of Summit parcel. ProHealth swings into
action:
Aurora competitor ProHealth Care Inc., which operates Oconomowoc Memorial
Hospital, immediately mobilized opposition to the Aurora project, as it had
three years earlier when Aurora proposed to build a hospital in Oconomowoc.
A full year of aggressive public relations activities by ProHealth followed.
Among ProHealth's early efforts was the creation of Not Another Hospital
Inc., a group that acted as a front for ProHealth. ProHealth's activities
through Not Another Hospital included the publication of a Web site, the
lease of high-cost highway billboards, the placement of signs in residential
yards, and the use of extensive newspaper and radio advertising. Land
use and zoning changes needed:
The new Aurora Medical Center would require the Town of Summit to amend its
land use plan and zoning for the site. On April 30, 2004, Aurora submitted a
request to the town to make these changes. Town of Summit begins
review:
In May, town officials began a seven-month review of the proposed Aurora
Medical Center. The town's efforts included 13 meetings and two lengthy
public hearings. The Summit Town Board reviewed hundreds of pages of written
records, studies and reports. The review covered all the relevant land use
issues including traffic, groundwater and storm water. In addition, each
member of the Town Board traveled at different times to Oshkosh to tour the
new Aurora hospital there. Plan Commission endorses project:
The Town of Summit Plan Commission voted Sept. 22, 2004, to endorse the
Aurora project.
Town Board approves project:
On Dec. 2, 2004, the Summit Town Board voted unanimously to make the land
use and zoning changes needed for construction of the new Aurora Medical
Center. The unanimous vote came despite months of lobbying by ProHealth Care
to reject the project. County review also required:
In Wisconsin, town land use and zoning changes also must be approved at the
county level, so as 2005 began the Aurora proposal moved to the Waukesha
County Board. ProHealth shifts its focus:
Having failed to persuade the Town of Summit that it should protect
ProHealth from competition, ProHealth redirected its efforts to county
officials. On Jan. 11, 2005, Ford Titus, ProHealth's chief executive
officer, sent a thick binder containing ProHealth's “Case Against the
Proposed Aurora Hospital in the Town of Summit” to each Waukesha County
Board member. ProHealth also then facilitated the creation of a second front
group, Concerned Business for Responsible Health Care, in an attempt to
build the perception of business opposition to the Aurora project.
Project wins endorsements:
In March 2005, the Aurora Medical Center was endorsed by Waukesha
County's own professional planning staff, as well as by the Waukesha County
Park and Planning Commission.
County Board votes no:
On April 26, 2005, after intense lobbying by ProHealth Care, the Waukesha
County Board voted 21-11 to reject the project.
The matter goes to court:
On May 23, 2005, the Town of Summit and Aurora together filed a lawsuit
challenging the Waukesha County Board's decision to block the medical
center. What the lawsuit alleges
County acted for an improper purpose:
Waukesha County Board members acted for an improper purpose, that is, to
protect ProHealth from competition, which is an improper use of zoning
power. Instead of basing their decision on relevant land use considerations,
the county officials were motivated by their desire to shield one hospital
from competition from another.
The suit also alleges that the County Board unlawfully attempted to
regulate the health care industry in Waukesha County, in violation of state
law. The state's policy encourages free and open competition in the health
care industry. By acting as it did, the Waukesha County Board undercut that
policy. County did not defer to the Town of Summit:
The county supervisors did not give proper deference to the Town of Summit
and allow the town to make its own decisions on land use. The Summit Town
Board had voted to amend its Master Plan and rezone the parcel to allow for
the proposed Aurora development after carefully considering all relevant
factors and determining that such a development was in the best interests of
the Town of Summit. Waukesha County failed to afford due deference to the
Town of Summit's decisions, instead substituting its own judgment for that
of the town officials. |
