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Variances OK'd for Mercy Edgerton clinic plan

EDGERTON — The Edgerton Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday approved a slew of variance requests by Mercy Health System for an expansion plan that would double the size of the Mercy Edgerton Medical Center.

Mercy plans to add an expansion on the west side of the existing clinic building facing Main Street, increasing the size the clinic from 4,100 square feet to 8,300 square feet.

The clinic is located at 217 N. Main St., at the intersection of Main and Broadway Streets.

Mercy had sought zoning variances because of the size of the expansion and because areas of the expansion would encroach on street easements and on a line of sight at the intersection of Main and Broadway Streets, officials said.

City Administrator Ramona Flanigan said the zoning board approved all of Mercy's variance requests as presented after a public hearing Wednesday, but she noted that the board asked the clinic to minimize its plans for landscaping at the corner of Main and Broadway Streets "to ensure that people can see there."

Flanigan said three residents raised concerns Wednesday about the clinic expansion, including a neighbor who lives just east of the clinic, adjacent to a grassy area on the clinic property where Mercy plans to put a paved parking lot.

Flanigan said residents wondered how the expansion would affect traffic visibility. She said the adjacent neighbor voiced concerns about placement of a driveway and trash bins and about Mercy's plans to convert a grassy area into a parking lot.

The clinic site plan still faces approval by the city's plan commission. The commission could review Mercy's plans at a meeting later this month, Flanigan said.

Mercy President and CEO Javon Bea told the Gazette that Mercy planned the $2 million expansion after market research and talks with local community leaders showed that the clinic needed an upgrade in services.

Mercy's expansion comes as Edgerton Hospital and SSM Healthcare of Wisconsin continue construction of the new Edgerton Hospital on the city's east side. The Edgerton Hospital campus will include a new clinic building where Dean Clinic plans to relocate.