Winfield trustees will vote Thursday on whether to give preliminary approval to a compromise proposal on the expansion of Central Du Page Hospital. The hospital`s previous attempts to grow have aroused opposition from adjacent residential areas.
The compromise, reached in meetings between hospital and village officials, would allow the hospital to build taller structures, but they would have to be set back farther from the medical campus` property lines to establish a buffer between the facility and its residential neighbors.
Central Du Page, which has announced a 20-year expansion plan, might erect buildings up to 65 feet high-20 feet higher than currently allowed-according to a proposed amendment to the village`s 1985 zoning ordinance.
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Thursday`s vote is on the principle of the amendment. An affirmative vote, which is expected, would decide whether the proposal goes to the planners.
The proposal is an attempt to reconcile the expansion plans of Winfield`s biggest employer with the objections of residents of the area adjacent to the hospital and Winfield Road, said village manager Martin Bourke.
Most affected would be hospital parking garages and auxiliary buildings which, though kept well below the 65-foot limit, ”have a tendency to be more obnoxious because of the lights and noise,” Bourke said.
The 65-foot limit would apply to freestanding structures on the north and east sides of the campus. A 50-foot setback from the hospital property line would be required for such structures if their height was 50 feet or less. The structures would have to be set back an additional foot for every extra foot of height, however.
The 23-year-old main building, exempt from the restrictions, is 65 feet tall.