Argument Over Parking Threatens Nursing Facility

The future of a proposed skilled nursing facility that could bring property taxes and some 30 jobs to Loma Linda was in question following a disagreement between the Planning Commission and the project’s directors over parking.

Commissioners delayed making a decision on the Linda Valley Care Center plans Wednesday, continuing the discussion to Oct. 5. Developers hired by Chancellor Healthcare of California said the delay could affect their funding, even cause the project to be scrapped.

“You’re killing the project,” Michel Augsburger, chairman and CEO of Chancellor Health Care LLC, said in frustration.

The proposed project would expand an existing 83-bed nursing facility and includes the construction of a two-story, 34,308 square-foot facility with 46 units, 53-bed, assisted living residence with a secured memory care unit for up to 28 residents, according to a staff report.

Developers also applied for the zoning for the area project, 25383 Cole St., to change from high density residential to healthcare. They were also restricted by cost and building and fire codes as to how close to the building some of the parking could be.

Commissioners said they could appreciate the financial concerns expressed by the developers, but said they had too many concerns over the parking, which is not close to the entry on the east face of the building.

The plan did not appear complete, some of the commissioners said. Given the facility was for the elderly, the commission said the issue could not be ignored.

“We must remember that people are not only going to visit, but once in a while, they are going to take their loved one out for lunch or to go out for the weekend,” said Commissioner Miguel Rojas.

The developer did redesign the front driveway from a two-way to a one-way entrance with an entry and drop off point and added parking spaces at the front of the facility. But that parking was still far from the entrance, commissioners said.

City staff said, if approved, the facility could bring in new jobs to a city already known as a medical town.