Pasadena : Hospital Expansion Voted

The Board of Directors has approved a development plan that would allow Las Encinas Hospital to build a 59-bed nursing home and a one-story commercial medical building on its site.

The approval of the plan, which will replace 27 smaller buildings on the private mental hospital’s property, is the result of nearly a year of negotiations among the hospital, city and residents, said Donald Nollar, the city’s director of Planning, Housing and Development Services.

The board in November rejected an expansion plan after residents complained that the proposed two-story buildings would change the neighborhood and increase traffic and noise, Nollar said. The board approved the latest plan by a 5-2 vote after the hospital agreed to build one-story structures and reduce the number of offices, he said.