File photo taken outside of Lethbridge City Hall, June 12, 2020. (Photo: D. Opinko-LNN)

By Justin Goulet

Re-zoning approval to support physician recruitment and retention in Lethbridge

Oct 12, 2022 | 7:13 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge City Council has approved the development of a new building to provide medical office space close to Chinook Regional Hospital.

A public hearing was held on Tuesday, October 11, 2022. Following the hearing, City Council voted unanimously in favour of approving a Land Use Bylaw amendment for the re-zoning of lots at 950, 954, and 958 – 17 Street South, which had previously been designated Low Density Residential and were demolished by the current owner in 2020.

With the passing of Bylaw 6367, an Amendment to Bylaw 5115, and Bylaw 6368, the property owner can now apply for building and development permits to build a mixed-use building on the three vacant lots. This new building will offer housing and commercial space, including medical and health offices that could accommodate both specialists and general practitioners.

Chinook Regional Hospital is surrounded by residential uses, which can result in conflicts, like parking. In an attempt to mitigate some of these conflicts, in 2001, the Specialist Offices Area Redevelopment Plan (SOP) was approved by City Council. This introduced a very specific land use district allowing only Medical and Surgical Specialist, as defined by the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons, to set up offices. General practitioners were not allowed.

Genesis Hevia Orio, Community Planner, noted that the 17 Street South properties were located within the SOP area prior to the amendment, which removed the properties from the SOP.

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Hevia Orio said, “Removing them from the Plan allows for the Direct Control rezoning which introduces development rules to allow a broader range of medical practitioners to locate near the hospital in a purpose-built building that considers the scale and impact to surrounding residential uses.”

She continued, “The development rules will regulate building height, parking and building placement. These development rules will ensure that development on this site is pedestrian friendly, human scale and effectively utilizes this site.”

Acting Mayor Jenn Schmidt-Rempel said, “Prioritizing the health and wellbeing of all residents continues to be a top priority within Council’s Gateway to Opportunity 2022 Action Plan and we are committed to partnering with key stakeholders to help recruit more family doctors to Lethbridge.”

Earlier in 2022, the City of Lethbridge teamed with the Chinook Primary Care Network (CPCN), Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Economic Development Lethbridge (EDL) for a marketing campaign aimed at recruiting to and retaining physicians in Lethbridge.

Part of this team-up included social media advertising and a marketing video.

The City of Lethbridge noted that the ads generated more than 450,000 impressions, and reached over 68,000 people, as well as led to “more than 12,000 clicks to the City’s webpage, Facebook page and expanding ads.”

Schmidt-Rempel said, “The website in general had a noticeable influx of traffic from other provinces.”

She continued, “This is a great start and we know a bit more about who is engaged with these posts and where they are located.”

Last month, AHS announced that 17 family medicine physicians had committed to Lethbridge. They are anticipated to start practicing in the city by early 2023.

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