Wood County Hospital has withdrawn its request to rezone its 37.3-acre property on West Wooster Street
and Conneaut Avenue.
As a result, the public hearing on the rezoning scheduled for Monday night by Bowling Green City Council
has been canceled.
The withdrawal and cancelation were announced in an email from the clerk of city council sent just after
8 p.m. Thursday.
The hospital was seeking rezoning from S-3, planned institutional, to I-1, institutional. Hospital
officials said the change would remove months from the planning process and allow the hospital to better
respond to changing needs.
"We really desire to have a little bit more efficiency and a less cumbersome process," Wood
County Hospital President Stan Korducki told the BG Planning Commission during its Feb. 5 public
hearing.
The commission heard positive comments from some residents and concerns from others who were worried
about the public losing the ability to be heard regarding matters going on in their neighborhoods.
Wendy Manning, of West Wooster Street, said the hospital has been "a great neighbor" but added
"if there’s a change in the ownership or the leadership to the hospital I think it’s important for
the community to be involved in hospital development."
Supporters who spoke that night included Earlene Kilpatrick, of the BG Chamber of Commerce, hospital
neighbor Marie Rogers, and Mayor Richard Edwards, who lives nearby in the Larch Landing development.
The commission sent a negative recommendation to council following the public hearing Feb. 5. Only three
of eight commission members present that night favored the change.