FLAGSTAFF — With the future of a new hospital proposed by Northern Arizona Healthcare in the hands of Flagstaff voters this fall, the health care system announced Wednesday that they will host a public forum next week to answer questions about the project.
The open house is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, at the Southside Community Association’s Murdoch Center at 203 E. Brannen Ave. in Flagstaff. The hospital wants community members to feel free to come and go as they please during that time.
The announcement comes about a month after the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed a Coconino County Superior Court ruling to keep Proposition 480 on the city’s Nov. 7 ballot.
The ballot referendum will let voters decide on rezoning nearly 100 acres of undeveloped land near Fort Tuthill County Park to construct a new 700,000-square-foot hospital, the first phase of Northern Arizona Healthcare’s proposed Health and Wellness Village. If approved, construction is expected to cost $800 million and be completed in 2027.
The hospital system challenged the ballot referendum in late July, claiming that the information presented to voters was misleading, specifically the mention of retail establishments not included in this phase of the proposed development plan.
The project’s second phase is expected to include housing, a hotel and health care-centered retail and restaurants.
Flagstaff Community First, the community coalition that submitted the referendum, has argued that their specific reference to Northern Arizona Healthcare’s “Health Village Phase 1 Specific Plan” was enough information for voters about the new hospital and that they simply provided examples of what the change to highway-commercial zoning legally allows, which includes retail businesses.
The coalition, citing a lack of specific details about the project or its potential impact on the community, formed after the Flagstaff City Council initially approved the rezoning in May. The group argues that the city doesn’t know precisely what it’s getting into with the deal without a broad-scope community impact study.
Reach the reporter at LLatch@gannett.com.
The Republic’s coverage of northern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. To support regional Arizona news coverage like this, make a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.
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