Spruce Hill residents criticize family medical practice's plans to expand

Local residents are opposing a zoning request that would permit a University-owned medical practice at 4623 Spruce St. to expand its administrative offices to an adjacent University-owned building. The University wants to convert the first-floor apartment of 4625 Spruce St. into an office and connect the site to University City Family Medicine with a doorway between the buildings. According to David Nicklin, who sold his practice to Penn's Clinical Care Associates (CCA) in July of 1994, the expansion will provide his office with a more convenient place to store its files, which are currently located on the building's third floor. But Napoleon Vaughn, who lives next door to University City Family Medicine, has criticized the medical practice and is asking people to oppose the zoning request. Vaughn gathered signatures from 60 neighborhood homeowners for a petition he authored against the zoning request. "His efforts have somewhat blackened my efforts in this neighborhood," said Nicklin, adding that he tries to take good care of the residents. Vaughn has made several allegations against the medical practice, saying the office produces more trash than allowed by the city and that its 10,000 patients fill the area's parking spaces. City regulations permit commercial sites to leave up to 10 bags of trash for pickup per week. According to Vaughn, the office leaves out between 25 and 30 bags of trash each week. Carol Scheman, University vice president for government, community and local affairs, said the trash problem was solved on Friday when CCA arranged for a private hauler to pick up the office's trash twice a week. Nicklin said the pickups will begin in January. "Any neighbor's concerns are the University's concerns," Scheman said. Vaughn also explained that he was concerned the bags contain hazardous waste which is left exposed when rodents and homeless people go through the garbage. Valeria Berry, another opponent of the proposed expansion, said she has seen a hypodermic needle and bloody gauze outside the property at 4623 Spruce St. But Nicklin says his office's "absolute policy" is to have trash cans for contaminated materials in every room -- as well as sealed containers for needles and scalpels. He also said a private company already picks up the practice's hazardous waste, as required by law. "We make every effort to be responsible in this area because it is the right thing to do," Nicklin said. Scheman said she is confident the doctor's office did not dispose of medical waste improperly. She also said she will check the office's hazardous waste disposal records to make sure. Vaughn also said patients fill up the neighborhood's parking spaces and make it difficult for SEPTA buses and trucks to pass through the street. But while Nicklin said he is aware the parking situation is an issue with neighbors, he downplayed his office's role in the area's parking congestion. "We're not the cause of the parking problem here, we're just a contributor," he said. But Nicklin said his office is conducting a survey of how its patients get to his office, which it will present to the zoning committee. Only 19 of 40 patients who recently filled out the survey responded that they drove to the office, according to Nicklin. Berry said she opposes the zoning request because she fears the University will make the entire block into a commercial area. Vaughn also expressed concerns about the University's effect on the neighborhood, saying that CCA is "a stranger, an outsider coming in and polluting the area." Nicklin said Vaughn never expressed concern with the office's expansion until CCA purchased his practice. "I feel quite confident that the issue for Vaughn is the University affiliation," he said. When Nicklin moved his practice to 4623 Spruce St. in 1990, medical suites occupied half of the house. Roughly 18 months ago, University City Family Medicine expanded its medical offices to the entire house, doubling the number of examination rooms. Nicklin said he never heard from Vaughn when he applied for this expansion -- even though he met with local community groups, sent letters to neighborhood residents and posted signs about the zoning change. The Spruce Hill Community Association supported the expansion and is supporting the current zoning request in return for Nicklin's agreement to limit his practice's future expansion. According to Alex Senderowicz, who owns property in the area and sits on Spruce Hill's zoning committee, Nicklin has agreed to limit the number of examination rooms in his practice to 10. Nicklin has also agreed to restore both properties to residential buildings if he ever leaves the current offices, Senderowicz said. Barry Grossbach, chairperson of Spruce Hill's zoning committee, gave the University the 4625 Spruce St. property as a gift last year. Grossbach said he and his co-owner wanted to make the University more interested in the community beyond 43rd Street by increasing its stake in the area. But Vaughn and Berry have said they are wary of the Spruce Hill Community Association and both raised questions about the propriety of the group's relationship with the University. "There is a very clear bedfellow arrangement between the Spruce Hill Community Association and the University of Pennsylvania," Vaughn said. Berry echoed these concerns, saying that Grossbach gave the property to the University in expectation that the Spruce Hill group would get something in return. But Grossbach said after giving the property to the University, he recused himself from the group's decision to support Nicklin's current zoning request.