Scranton City Council voted to approve an amendment to the city zoning ordinance that clears the way for Geisinger CMC to expand its facilities, following more than an hour of public comment and council debate.

Supporters on council said the change is necessary to preserve local access to trauma and specialty care. “I’ve weighed all the pros and cons,” said Mister King, who described the proposal as vital for health care for the city’s roughly 77,000 residents and said Geisinger has committed not to exceed 75 feet. Council member Dinesh Brodchild added that the expansion would add beds, NICU capacity and roughly 120 health-care positions.

Opponents, including Mister Shuster and several neighborhood speakers, pressed for more time and for a binding community benefits agreement before rezoning. “When we vote yes on this tonight, it’s over for what the neighborhood wants in terms of a seat at the table and compromise,” Mister Shuster said during council debate. Laura Agostini of the Green Ridge Neighborhood Association asked why the city had only four weeks to consider the change and urged a community benefits agreement be in place before approval.

Council members also quoted a written opinion from the city law department: the city cannot condition a rezoning on a private contract or community benefits agreement because Pennsylvania law prohibits contract zoning. Mister Shuster read the law department’s statement into the record and identified the city attorney, Andrew Cotillo, as the source of that opinion.

Council supporters responded that Geisinger has offered several safeguards, including neighborhood meetings, traffic and lighting studies and the firm commitment that plans will be reviewed by the city planning commission and permits will be required. “I do not want to gamble with the future of health care for the nearly 77,000 residents of the entire city of Scranton,” Mister King said.

The council’s final roll call on item 7f recorded three votes in favor and two opposed; the chair declared the ordinance legally and lawfully adopted. Council members voting yes cited the potential loss of regional health‑care capability if the city declined to accommodate the expansion; those voting no said the process was rushed and that neighborhood protections remained insufficient.

The zoning change does not itself approve final building plans. Council members and several public speakers noted that subsequent steps — planning commission reviews, permit approvals, traffic and lighting studies and any negotiated nonbinding community engagement commitments — remain to be completed.

The council concluded the discussion by noting promises from Geisinger for regular meetings with neighbors and further technical studies; opponents have requested a town‑hall-style meeting and a clearer community benefits plan before later permitting steps proceed.