Airdrie Council approves rezoning as new healthcare center is on the horizon – DiscoverAirdrie.com

A parcel of land in the city’s southwest, in the Vantage Rise housing development, has been redistricted, which will ‘provide additional commercial lands needed for the potential development of a health care centre within the Vantage Rise neighbourhood.’

The housing development of Vantage Rise in the city’s southwest will see a parcel of land redistricted, which will ‘provide additional commercial lands needed for the potential development of a health care centre within the Vantage Rise neighbourhood.’ (Graphic credit to The City of Airdrie) 

On Tuesday, Airdrie City Council agreed to the amendments in the Land Use Bylaw, which will see the redistricting of 0.42 hectares (1.04 acres) of land from Low-Rise Multifamily Residential District (R3) to Community Commercial District (C2).

City council documents reveal that redistricting the parcel of land in Vantage Rise from R3 to C2 will slightly increase the number of jobs in the area from 248 to 270. However, this change will also reduce the size of the R3 area, leading to a minor decrease in housing density and the percentage of attached housing. Despite this reduction, the new figures still meet the city’s policy requirements, with a density of 8.01 units per acre and 46 per cent attached housing.

It was also noted that at their July 9 meeting, the Community Infrastructure and Strategic Growth Committee (CISG) reviewed the proposed amendment. They asked what would happen to the property if the health care center funding wasn’t received. Still, the administration explained that the property would be developed with other uses permitted under the C2 district if the financing fell through.

“One thing to note is that the purpose and intent of the C2 district is to provide services that support residents of not only the community within which it is located but surrounding communities as well,” Tega Odogu, a planner with The City of Airdrie. “Therefore, this district and location, along 24 Street, is ideal for a health care center. Administration’s review of the proposed redistricting shows that it aligns with city policy and Council’s direction contained in the Airdrie City Plan and the Vantage Rise Neighborhood Structure Plan (NSP), which Council approved in May of 2023.”

Lauren Lambert, with B&A Planning, told the city council that the resulting change in land use re-districting would benefit both residential builders and commercial developers.

“As a result, site areas are more functional for their respective programs. The goal of the proposed land use amendment is to increase the size of the commercial site to facilitate efficient site planning and configuration concerning the natural topography of the Vantage Rise area and to accommodate various tenants,” she said. “Since the approval of the Vantage Rise NSP in 2023, the consultant team has initiated detailed planning and technical evaluation to progress phase one development. Rough grading on the site has begun with completed deep utility work to follow shortly.”

She added that Qualico Communities is pleased to include the Vantage Commons commercial site in phase one.

“… And is working on a Master Site Plan for the lands, which will be submitted to administration this fall.”

Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown lauded Qualico Communities at the closing of the public presentation on Tuesday, saying that their efforts were instrumental in making the health centre initiative happen.

“Hopefully, we’re going to hear very quickly from the Government of Alberta that this is where they want to make the next investment in health. This is exciting times for our community and something we desperately need,” he concluded.

Despite the mayor’s enthusiasm for the joint urgent care and primary care facility, One Health Associate Medical’s proposal has been criticized by advocacy organizations and some Airdrie residents. Friends of Medicare, a non-profit, non-partisan coalition that advocates universal public healthcare, has cited the process’s lack of transparency. 

In July, Chris Gallaway, Executive Director of Friends of Medicare, said that the organization continues to be skeptical of the proposal. 

“Our biggest concern, which has been our concern throughout, is uncertainty about what is happening,” he said. “When the [Airdrie Community] Health Center Project was said to be delayed, and then back on and then this proposal, there hasn’t been a lot of clarity.”

Gallaway reiterated that many questions other residents asked during public engagement sessions earlier this summer, including who will pay for the initiative, remain unanswered.

He also underlined that when it comes to the Urgent Care portion of the proposed facility, the question becomes who is running it if it is not Alberta Health Services or its successor, as the government is in the midst of a healthcare overhaul.

“If it were to be [a] One Health operated and run urgent care center, which would be a massive shift in health care delivery in Alberta, to a private operator.”

Gallaway said that if One Health proposes a one-stop shop for all healthcare needs, including labs, he wants to know who will own everything.

“That is all currently run in hospitals and health centers operated by Alberta Health Services. If you go to an urgent care center, an emergency room, overnight or acute care beds, those are public hospitals and health care centers. [But for this project] – who is paying? Where are they getting the money to operate that? Who owns it?”

Gallaway said that one of the key questions he would like answered is what is driving this.

“What need is it trying to meet? Why isn’t this coming from our provincial health entity, which discusses what is needed to serve communities like Airdrie, Cochrane, and other growing places?”

However, Doug Smith, a One Health Associate Medical volunteer, had previously reiterated that the model is not a form of privatized care. He categorically stated that One Health and Dr. Julian Kyne’s model would have no access or membership fees for the primary and urgent care portions. The primary care facility is currently designed to serve patients who are present with One Health and will eventually expand to serve residents who do not have a family doctor.

“There is no additional charge for publicly funded services. All we’re doing is bringing them all together and providing them in a better format in a better way,” Smith said. “Those who can use this new approach will be current One Health patients and approximately 20,000 people in the Airdrie area who don’t have a family physician today.”

There is no specific deadline for beginning construction of the building for Airdrie’s new primary and urgent care centre, though Smith previously estimated that if the provincial government greenlights One Health’s business plan, the construction would take approximately two years and be done in a phased approach. 

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