§ 13-3302. Ambulatory surgical care facilities.


Latest version.
  • (a)

    No new ambulatory surgical care facility shall be developed, either through construction or conversion of existing space, in the City unless a permit therefor has been issued by the City Clerk.

    (b)

    Ambulatory surgical care facility means an establishment licensed by the State as an ambulatory surgical care facility with an organized medical staff of physicians, with permanent facilities that are equipped and operated primarily for the purpose of performing surgical procedures, with continuous physician services available on call, and registered professional nurse services on site, whenever a patient is in the facility, which provides services or other accommodations for patients to recover for a period not to exceed twenty-three (23) hours after surgery.

    (c)

    Before developing a facility for use as a newly licensed ambulatory surgical care facility, the person proposing to operate the ambulatory surgical care facility shall file a completed application with the City Clerk for a permit for the facility in addition to any other required approvals. The application for a permit shall be in such form as the City Staff shall prescribe and shall provide an impact study including a demonstration of the ambulatory surgical care facility's probable impact on the existing surgical services in the City. All necessary studies shall be provided by the applicant.

    (d)

    The application for a permit shall be accompanied by a filing fee equal to one (1) percent of the capital cost of the proposed facility, with a minimum fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and a maximum fee chargeable hereunder of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00). It is intended that the fee charged herein shall be used to cover the costs of the application evaluation. Any excess of fees collected over costs incurred over one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) but less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) shall be refunded to the applicant.

    (e)

    Within thirty (30) days after receiving a completed application for a permit, the City Clerk shall cause a paid public notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the ambulatory surgical care facility is to be located and in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the application is available for inspection. The notice shall include the name and proposed location of the facility, a brief description of the proposal, information on where the original application can be viewed, and an explanation of how parties may file materials to be considered along with the application.

    (f)

    Any person may submit written evidence and argument regarding the proposed ambulatory surgical care facility to the City Clerk to be reviewed by City Staff. Written materials shall be submitted to the City Clerk within thirty (30) days after publication of the paid notice. The applicant shall have forty-five (45) days after publication of the paid notice to respond in writing to materials timely filed by other persons.

    (g)

    No permit to establish an ambulatory surgical care facility shall be issued by the City Clerk unless, after reviewing the application and timely filed written materials and responses, the City Staff makes the following findings:

    (1)

    The proposed ambulatory surgical care facility will fulfill a demonstrated need in the community for the facility and its development is in the best interest of the health and welfare of the community;

    (2)

    The proposed ambulatory surgical care facility will serve and be in the interest of the health and welfare of the community;

    (3)

    The proposed ambulatory surgical care facility can be adequately served by the City's existing utility systems and/or infrastructure;

    (4)

    The applicant must obtain and hold in good standing during its operation a transfer agreement with an accredited acute care facility within the corporate limits of the City of Norman;

    (5)

    Doctors practicing at the proposed center must be credentialed and on staff in good standing with an accredited acute care facility within the corporate limits of the City of Norman;

    (6)

    The ownership structure of the facility does not violate the federal antikickback statutes and Stark I and II; and

    (7)

    The applicant has obtained a license from the State Commissioner of Health as required under Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

    (h)

    Should an objection be filed by any interested party or governmental entity to the granting of said permit, the City Clerk shall schedule the application for hearing before an administrative law judge appointed by the City Council within one hundred twenty (120) days after publication of the paid notice. A permit shall be effective for thirty-six (36) months from the date of issue, during which time an applicant shall start construction or conversion work on the ambulatory surgical care facility. If construction or conversion work is not started within the time required by this section, the permit shall be null and void. Should construction or conversion work be completed within the thirty-six-month period as provided, then the permit shall remain valid so long as the center is in compliance with the state regulatory requirements and the requirements as set forth in this article.

    (i)

    Any person or governmental entity aggrieved by a decision of the administrative law judge shall appeal by filing an action in the district court within thirty (30) days from the issuance of the decision by the administrative law judge.

    (1)

    Upon the completed filing of all documents required herein, providing that no protests are filed during the protest period the City Staff shall issue the permit administratively. This is subject to all other zoning, building, and code requirements being met.

    (j)

    The City Staff may establish standards for review and approval of detailed building plans and specifications that are in addition to the requirements for a permit under this section.

(Ord. No. 0-9697-48; Ord. No. 0-0304-61, § 3)