Elk Grove-based California Northstate University has halted plans to build a $750 million teaching hospital in Elk Grove days after the project was unanimously rejected by a planning commission, according to The Sacramento Bee.
The university said it is pausing activity related to the approval process and reevaluating the project as a whole.
"Following last week's action by the City of Elk Grove Planning Commission, California Northstate University is pausing activity related to the approval process for its Elk Grove hospital project in order to fully consider all options going forward," Brian Holloway, a spokesperson for the project, told The Sacramento Bee last week.
The Elk Grove Planning Commission voted 3-0 Feb. 18 to reject the proposal and voted to send that recommendation of denial to the full city council.
In its decision, the planning commission cited issues with the location of the facility. Specifically, Planning Commission Vice Chair George Murphey said the project's location is on a 200-year flood plain and voted against approval because there is a "want and not a need" to build a hospital in that location.
The university filed plans in 2018 seeking approval to build a 250-bed teaching hospital adjacent to its campus in Elk Grove. A second phase called for expanding the hospital to 400 beds within 13 stories.