Prescott City board approves conditional use permit for hospital helipad with masonry wall and landscaping

The Prescott City Board of Adjustment voted to approve a conditional use permit for a heli‑stop at a new hospital site adjacent to State Route 69 after two hours of staff presentations, developer testimony and public comment.

Tammy Duet, community planner, told the board the helipad is intended for short stopovers — ‘‘a stop where it comes and picks up patients or drops off patients and then flies off’’ — not a permanently stationed helicopter, and that FAA and ADOT reviewed the proposal. Duet said staff expanded public outreach to 1,000 feet (state law requires 300 feet) and proposed mitigation including perimeter screening and additional landscaping to reduce visual and external impacts.

Hospital representatives and air‑ambulance operators described the clinical and operational need. Bruce McVay, chief operating officer for Exceptional Healthcare, said comparable micro‑hospital sites average about ‘‘one a week’’ for air transfers and that most flights would be outbound transfers to higher‑level trauma centers rather than routine inbound landings. Dr. Paul Gilbert, the project’s medical director, described time‑sensitive cases such as a brain bleed or severe trauma where ‘‘minutes can save brain tissue’’ and said having a nearby landing area can meaningfully reduce delays in the ‘‘golden hour.’’

Native Air pilots and operations staff described the company as a Part 135 operator with local bases in Prescott and Prescott Valley and provided a voluntary noise‑abatement approach that keeps aircraft over SR 69 until roughly 500 feet from the site. Company representatives said the site will be FAA‑designated for the operator as a private landing location and that the helicopters planned for use (AS350/AStar type) are relatively quiet compared with some older models.

Neighbors who spoke during public comment raised safety, noise and economic concerns. “I just think it’s a lousy location,” said one resident who lives near the site and operates short‑term rentals, warning that noise and hovering during site searches could harm rental income. Others described worries about rotor wash, dust from a hillside site, nearby power lines and the site’s topography, saying a 6‑foot wood fence would not be an adequate mitigation.

Board members debated process and conditions. Several members said the possibility of a helipad ideally should have been included during initial site plan review. Commissioners considered conditions including adherence to FAA guidance, prohibition of wood chips near the pad, use of appropriate aggregate near the landing surface, and whether the perimeter barrier should be masonry rather than a wood fence.

The motion that passed requires approval of CUP 24‑004 with the conditions announced at the meeting: a masonry screening wall on the north and west property lines consistent with the developer’s exhibit; additional landscaping along SR 69 as proposed in the developer’s plan (including additional trees); and completion of the above conditions prior to final approval of the hospital’s building permit. The board’s vote was recorded verbally as 5 in favor, 1 opposed.

Next steps: the applicant must finalize the landscaping and screening details and complete the required conditions before the city will issue final building permits for the helipad. The board adjourned the meeting after the vote.

Sources: presentation and discussion at the Prescott City Board of Adjustment meeting, Nov. 21, including staff planner Tammy Duet; Exceptional Healthcare representatives Don Dan Nicolini and Bruce McVay; Dr. Paul Gilbert; Native Air representatives; architect Robert Donaldson; and multiple public commenters.