Residents concerned about Stanford University Medical Center's giant expansion project had a chance to learn more about the proposal at a Tuesday night forum.

And at least a handful didn't like what they heard.

About 70 people, including dozens of seniors and health care workers, attended the meeting at First United Methodist church to hear presentations by hospital and city officials about the new facilities.

The attendees' concerns about the project, which includes an upgraded Children's Hospital, an expanded main hospital and rebuilt labs and classrooms at Stanford Medical Center, ranged from potential traffic congestion and need for more housing for the new employees to helicopter noise and a possible fire hazard.

Residents submitted their questions anonymously, on note cards.

Andy Coe and Sherri Sager, chief government relations officers for Stanford Hospital and Clinics and for Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, respectively, both stressed the urgent need for the massive facility improvements.

Coe called the main hospital facilities "outdated and outmoded," while Sager noted that the Children's Hospital is filled to capacity and urgently needs to be expanded.

The revamped Children's Hospital would feature new treatment rooms and an additional 104 beds, raising the total bed count to 361. It would also add space inside the patients' rooms for families.
"There needs to be an element of playfulness and family," Sager said.

Stanford Hospital would add 144 beds (raising its total to 600) and about 824,000 square feet of added space. It would also feature a large waterfall flowing in an open area within the three lower levels.

Curtis Williams and Steven Turner, both from the city's planning department, also attended the meeting to discuss the approval process and the project's potential impact on Palo Alto.

Interim Planning Director Williams said the new facilities would provide city residents with new, top-notch medical facilities and add prestige to both the university and the city. He also noted that the new hospitals will also be used by residents from other communities between San Francisco and San Jose.

"Those communities would share the benefits but not necessarily the impacts," Williams said.
He identified the greater demand for housing and utility use and the large sizes of the new buildings as some of the impacts.

The rebuilt hospital, which includes a helipad, would be up to 130 feet in height, while the children's hospital would rise to up to 85 feet.

Coe said the hodspital is trying to alleviate future traffic congestion by moving some facilities tdo Redwood City. And when confronted about the loud noise from helicopters, he said the hospital will continue to do its best to avoid having helicopters fly over residential areas.

Some remained unconvinced. One resident argued that the city is too small to support facilities of this size, while another criticized the dense construction and called the new buildings a "fire trap."

The project still needs to be approved by local and state officials. Hospital officials estimated it would take about five years to construct the new facilities once the approvals are issued. The project is privately funded by the hospitals and should have no negative impact on taxpayers, Sager said.