Plans by a local chiropractor to build a health services building on land currently occupied by a residence and separate garage at 309 Main Street ran into a roadblock March 7 when Airdrie City council voted against approving a request to rezone the land.
Dr. Kyla Miller, owner of Central Health Chiropractic, came to council asking the land be rezoned to be part of the Central Business District. Miller has owned Central Health – currently located at 120 Second Avenue – since 2010. Miller also owns the land that was the subject of the rezoning request.
“I knew I wanted to be within a small radius of where the business currently is so I could continue to serve the patients who have been coming to the clinic for over 15 years,” Miller said.
City of Airdrie Planning Intern Karl Mielke said the proposal had been reviewed by both internal and external experts to ensure it conformed to technical requirements and no issues were raised. The proposal was brought to the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) on Feb. 4, where it was unanimously approved.
Mielke said the land is adjacent to land zoned as Central Business District to the south and east. The proposed two-storey health services building would include six leasable commercial spaces and underground parking.
“It would provide a range of health services in a central location and could be a benefit to the city as a whole as we approach a population of 90,000 by 2030,” he said. “It could also become a catalyst to the development of the other vacant and underutilized lots in the Central Business District, such as the Old Hotel site and the site where the ice cream truck has been parked for a while.”
Many residents of homes close to the subject land attended the Public Hearing during the March 7 City council meeting to voice opposition to the rezoning. One of those in attendance was Diana Turk, who is a resident of the home on Second Avenue next to the subject land.
“Although the proposed development specifies an underground parkade, I think it’s clear to say that the parking on Second Avenue is inadequate as it is,” she said. “Our theory is that even though you have an underground parkade, the employees will use that and the building itself will have transient patron usage and they’re going to park on the street.”
Turk said she felt there were safety issues stemming from increased traffic using the back alley to access the parkade. She said she was also concerned the commercial building would attract unwanted activities after hours, such as drug use and graffiti.
Residents organized a petition and collected signatures from 95 per cent of the surrounding homes stating they were against rezoning of the lot, according to Turk.
Some members of council said they felt they needed to have more information about the building planned for the site.
“Asking to rezone something without getting a clear picture of what the site coverage is going to be, what the size of the building massing (is going to be) and those sorts of things when it’s still up in the air (is my concern),” Councillor Allan Hunter said.
Councillor Fred Burley – who originally voted in favour of the rezoning at the MPC meeting Feb. 4 – voted against the motion March 7, stating public input was a big factor in his change of heart.
“A lot of times we ask developers to do a lot of research beforehand and this wasn’t done in this case. I think it rests with the developer to get the residents on side first. It seemed like a good development but not at this time and place,” he said.
Miller said while she was disappointed in the outcome, she respected council’s decision.
“I think they listened to both comments for and against, and council made the decision they had to make,” she said. “I think they have to listen to the community.
“I don’t know what the next steps are. I will speak with the architect and the city planners and re-group and see what the next steps are.”
