Bloggin’ on the Edge

Posted by Scott Spielman at 3:00 AM | Comments

Two recent proposals by Oakwood Hospital showed the difference in attitudes in western Wayne County—and the perceptions of different neighborhoods.

They also highlight the frustration I feel watching developments take shape in places like Northville, Plymouth and Canton compared to the way they happen in my hometown of Wayne.

In Canton, Oakwood had proposed a sprawling new medical complex that included a new ambulatory care center and medical offices followed by a hospital facility in a future phase—if officials could show a need for it.

In order to get into the Canton community, and in part to appease the neighbors, Oakwood officials were prepared to bend over backwards and jump through hurdles. They revised their initial plan; they set up a web site detailing the proposal. They promised huge buffer zones and wide swaths of green space—a development the entire community could be proud of.

In Wayne, officials pitched an idea for a 2,000 square foot expansion at Oakwood Annapolis Hospital in the form of a new MRI center. We were lucky to get them to fix the sidewalks out front—which, by the way, lead to a middle school.

Now, you could make the argument that any investment in the community at a time like this is a good thing. Oakwood has invested plenty in Annapolis Hospital of late, more than $40 million in the form of a new surgery center, renovations to the emergency room as well as the birthing center and now this latest proposal. You’d be right, too. It’s a good thing and it shows that the hospital will remain in the community, no matter what plans the top brass might have for other sites.

They need to do those things to stay competitive, though. They’re investing in the community because they have to invest in their own facilities. If they wanted to present a stronger corporate image here, it wouldn’t cost much to put in a few more shrubs, some additional landscaping and work proactively with the city to clean up the sidewalk and their crummy parking lot—or to get someone to clean up the graffiti sprayed all over their laundry facility at the back of the building. They could make it a place of pride, not just a place holder.

The most troubling thing to me is that no one on the planning commission asked for any additional improvements. That’s the difference between Wayne and places like Canton and Northville Township—their planning commissions always push for more. Even if they won’t get it; even if their ordinances dictate that they don’t have the right to ask for it, they still ask for it. They apply pressure in the implication that the business will do better if it looks nicer.

Our leaders here in Wayne say they’re trying to raise the bar, too. But if our major corporate citizens won’t lead by example and if our officials won’t push them, who will lead the way?

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