Locals steamed over plant

Residents of a condominium complex that sits next to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian lobbied the Newport Beach Planning Commission on Thursday night to force the hospital to clean up a power plant on its campus the residents claim spews plumes of vapor, heat and steam into the air, obstructing the clear coastal views they once had from their homes.

“This is a time we have the power to make [Hoag Hospital] do something about the plume,” said Villa Balboa condominium complex resident Jim Kaiser. “Otherwise, they’re just going to keep blowing smoke.”

The Planning Commission was expected to vote late Thursday on whether to give Hoag permission to shift up to 225,000 square feet of building space from its lower campus, which stretches along West Coast Highway, to its upper campus bordering Newport Boulevard to build a new 300,000-square-foot tower there.

The hospital also wants some slack on city-imposed noise restrictions.

Villa Balboa residents spoke against approving Hoag’s requests until the hospital takes steps to eliminate some of the noise and air pollution they claim the hospital generates.

The residents asked the commission to recommend city council consider forcing Hoag to take steps to reduce vapor and other emissions from a hospital cogeneration power plant.

“It looks awful — it’s like Auschwitz sitting out there,” said Villa Balboa resident Annette Warner. “I used to have a beautiful view, and now I just see the plumes.”

The cogeneration plant is an important part of the hospital’s operations, said Gary McKitterick, chairman of Hoag’s facilities committee.

“The cogeneration plant has a very valid purpose,” he said. “When it was built, that decision was made so there will be no blackouts at that hospital.”

The reallocation of unbuilt space would allow the hospital to add more operating rooms and other care facilities. In return for these requests, Hoag would give the city $3 million in development fees for the city to use on road improvements and other city projects.

The reallocation of unbuilt space would allow the hospital to add more operating rooms and other care facilities — things Newport Beach will need as its population grows and ages, Planning Commissioner Barry Eaton noted at the meeting.

In return for these requests, Hoag would give the city $3 million in development fees for the city to use on road improvements and other city projects.

Hoag officials said they are working to address the concerns of its neighbors. The hospital has proposed several noise-reducing measures to the residents.

“We’re doing our best, and we don’t want to cause any angst,” McKitterick said. “We are trying to respond to the comments that we hear.”

The residents also say loud, idling trucks at Hoag’s loading docks and mechanical equipment cause noise problems at Villa Balboa.

Noise in the area regularly exceeds a 55-decibel city-imposed limit, according to a city-commissioned report on noise levels. Noise in some residential areas around the hospital reaches 67 decibels, according to the report.

The hospital has asked the city for a 70-decibel limit in some areas during the daytime, or about as loud as a normal conversation.

Hoag has proposed sound proofing some of the homes at Villa Balboa and building a 6-inch-thick plastic, insulation-filled sound wall that would be 18- to 14-feet high in most places as a response to noise complaints from Villa Balboa residents.

If approved by the commission, Hoag’s proposal will go next to the Newport Beach City Council for consideration.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.