Veterans Medical Center set to build new labs

By Todd Levinson

The San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center is continuing its plans to construct research labs on a corner patch of land that borders Seal Rock Drive.

The 14,000-square-foot project will house labs that are currently in the main hospital building on the grounds, located at 42nd Avenue and Clement Street. A mandated seismic retrofit and privacy laws, which require room size reductions, are displacing the labs, said VA Public Affairs Officer Gene Gibson.

The labs will follow safety protocols for handling human disease, and roof-mounted units will vent filtered and chemically treated exhaust into the air.

These labs are going to be about 75 feet from our homes," said David Burns, co-founder of the neighborhood group Friends of Lands End.

Burns lives at 16 Seal Rock Dr., adjacent to the future site of the labs.

The Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR), which represents 1,600 households, requested an environmental study be done, but VA officials say the project falls under the size requirement for a study as mandated by federal law.

"We are not going to do anything dangerous to anyone," Gibson said.

National Environmental Protection Agency laws which also govern the project require that a study be done, said attorney Gene Brodsky, a board member of the Planning Association for the Richmond.

These laws state that even small projects can have a "cumulative" impact in connection with other projects on the site. Parking problems, plans for future projects, lack of space, added personnel and the release of possibly harmful substances from the labs all have a "cumulative effect," Brodsky said.

The VA also has to work in conjunction with the city planning department, Brodsky said.

"We are a federal agency that can't be held up by every little rule or law. We have to be able to do what Congress tells us to do," said Gibson.

The site where the labs will be built is at the end of what is now a gravel road that veers off towards a wooded area on the southwest side of the hospital grounds.

A small modular building, which houses computer servers, is currently located at the site. However, it does not have a lot of traffic or personnel associated with it, said Burns, who can occasionally hear cars on the gravel road from his home.

During construction and after the labs are built, there will be a lot more activity on that part of the campus creating more noise and disturbances to neighbors, Burns said.

Also at issue is how temporary the labs will be.

Other "temporary" structures built on the site have been around for 10 to 15 years, according to Brodsky.

Gibson said the labs may be "permanently relocated."

Space to build on the grounds is at a premium. According to an April 2005 Facility Plan done by the Smithgroup, by the year 2012 there will be a 50,000 square foot deficit in nursing units, a 17,000-square-foot deficit in clinical services and nearly a 22,000-square-foot deficit in space for ambulatory care.

Also, according to the Facility Plan, by the year 2012 research space at the labs will increase to 30 percent of the grounds. Currently, it takes up 21 percent of the campus.

The SFVAMC is the largest funded research center in the VA network, with a $67 million annual research budget. Congress, the National Institute of Health, the Department of Defense, private corporations and foundations all fund research at the Veterans Hospital.

"First and foremost it's a clinical facility," said Bob Obama, executive director of the Northern California Institute for Research, a non-profit, which administers research funding at the Veterans Hospital.

Although it may seem that clinical and research space are in competition, most of the doctors are doing clinical work in conjunction with their research, Gibson said.

The Veterans Hospital has close ties to UCSF and its proximity to UC Parnassus is what helps attract "some of the best researchers in the world," Gibson said.

Many researchers work part of the day at UCSF and part of the day at the Veterans Hospital. Parking at the VA is also a problem.

In the mornings, workers can be seen lined up on neighboring streets, waiting for the neighborhood residents to leave for work so they can take their spots.

A study done for the VA found that there is already a parking deficit of 657 spaces during the day and the lab project will displace an additional 263.

"I don't want to sound insensitive, but we're not here to assure parking. We're hear to assure good health care for veterans and get the job done," Gibson said.

The VA has had a strained relationship with the surrounding neighborhood in the past. Staff members from Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's office have had to step in to help mediate disputes between the VA and neighbors over construction projects and landscaping issues.

PAR, the Friends of Lands End and People for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area have all been active in the discussions, with mixed results. Obama said he understands the neighborhood has a role to "keep the VA in check."

"If I was a neighbor I would want to know what was going on up there too," Obama said. "We want to work with the neighborhood. The problem is the community expects us to know all the answers but everything is determined by how much money Congress will give us," Gibson said.