Gadsby Lake Recovery Centre

Bylaw 1420/24 - AMENDMENT TO THE COUNTY’S LAND USE BYLAW

At their December 12, 2024 meeting Lacombe County Council gave second and third reading to Bylaw 1420/24 to add ‘Recovery Centre on the N ½ 22-41-23-W4M’ as a special discretionary use to the Agricultural ‘A’ District of the County’s Land Use Bylaw.

Dr. Ravi Chandiramani is proposing a “recovery centre”, for adult men and women, located on 200+ acres of land that includes two 10,000+ square-foot buildings. The organization behind the proposed centre aims to provide a long-term, evidence-based program for adult men and women in need of a residential treatment setting. The facilities will be staffed 24/7. No detoxification services will be provided at this location.

The applicant hosted a Public Meeting the evening of July 25, 2024 at the Tees Community Hall. The meeting was an opportunity for community members to ask questions of the applicant and get more information on the proposed development.

The applicant recorded the meeting, which is available for the public. Click here to access the transcript.

Following the close of the comment period from the Public Meeting, the applicant submitted a Consultation Report outlining the concerns heard at the meeting and how they can be mitigated. Click here to access the community consultation report.

Next Steps

Now that Bylaw 1420/24 has been officially adopted by Council, the applicant is now able to submit a development permit application for the new use. There is no time frame for when an application must be submitted, landowners determine the timing of development applications. As the new use is a discretionary use, it will be subject to a 21-day appeal period if it is approved by the Municipal Planning Commission.

Background Information

Read the following sections for additional background information.

What is the County approval process for the proposed recovery centre?

The developer was first required to make an initial presentation to County Council for information. The initial presentation to County Council was held on June 13, 2024. The purpose of this initial presentation was to provide Council with a preliminary view of the development prior to the developer holding any public meetings.

The developer is then required to complete community consultation. A community information meeting must be held by the developer and advertised appropriately. The developer community meeting was held on July 25, 2024, at the Tees Community Hall. The circulation radius for mail notices was 1.0 mile from the property. The meeting notice was posted in a local newspaper, the County News, on the County website, and on the County’s social media.

The developer is accepting comments from the public until August 1, 2024. After that, a community consultation report would be required, prior to Council considering bylaw readings for the Land Use Bylaw amendment.

During the bylaw readings for the Land Use Bylaw amendment, Council would be required to host a Public Hearing prior to considering second reading of the bylaw changes. The Public Hearing presents the proposed bylaw and gives members of the public an opportunity to speak to Council about it and provide input before adoption. Anyone wishing to comment on the proposed bylaw will have an opportunity to do so at the Public Hearing, or by providing written comments.

If the Land Use Bylaw amendment is successful and passes all three required bylaw readings, the developer could apply for a development permit for the use as a “recovery centre”. Members of the public are able to speak at the Municipal Planning Commission meeting, in support or in opposition to the proposed development. As a discretionary use, any Municipal Planning Commission decision would be circulated by mail to lands within 1.0-mile of the property and advised of their right to appeal.

A Municipal Planning Commission decision can be appealed by people who may be affected by a decision of the Development Authority. The appeal would be heard by the Land and Property Rights Tribunal (LPRT). The LPRT is a quasi-judicial board that hears and makes decisions on appeals related to a variety of matters, including development. The LPRT makes final decisions after conducting a fair hearing, and cannot be overturned unless an error occured in some aspect of law or jurisdiction.

Process diagram.

What is the difference between a 'recovery centre' and a 'treatment centre'?

In Lacombe County’s Land Use Bylaw, the two uses have separate definitions. The primary difference is a recovery centre does not include detoxification, where a treatment centre may include detoxification.

The developer is proposing a recovery centre, with no detoxification on site.

The definitions are as follows:

RECOVERY CENTRE means a centre for the treatment of persons with addiction, such as but not limited to drugs or alcohol, which may include the provision of services including psychotherapy and the dispensing of medication, but does not include detoxification. This includes providing overnight or short-term accommodation to residents but does not include a detention or correction centre.

TREATMENT CENTRE means a centre for the treatment of persons with addiction, such as but not limited to drugs or alcohol, which may include the provision of services including psychotherapy, detoxification, and the dispensing of medication. This includes providing overnight or short-term accommodation to residents but does not include a detention or correction centre.

If the developer gained all approvals for a 'recovery centre', and in the future wanted to add detoxification to the site activities, what County approvals would be required?

Detoxification is not permitted under the County’s definition of a ‘recovery centre’. If the developer wished to do detoxification, they would require approval for a ‘treatment centre’ on these specific lands.

This would require a new Land Use Bylaw amendment to consider a ‘treatment centre’ on these specific lands, as well as require a new Development Permit application. This would require Step 1 and Step 2 of the County Approval Process chart above to be repeated.