Area surrounding proposed clinic will be a health service district

The construction of a new medical campus in Ironton took a step forward Monday night.

The Ironton Planning Commission has favorably recommended that the area surrounding the proposed campus along State Route 141 be rezoned as a health service district.

“I think we’re making the right decision,” Mayor Rich Blankenship told the commission, adding that he hopes to keep an open dialogue between the residents and the city throughout the construction process.

St. Mary’s Medical Center plans to start construction this fall on a 46,000-square-foot medical campus near the intersection of State Route 141 and U.S. 52 in Ironton.

The area around the construction site was formerly zoned as residential and business. While the project could have continued in the business zone, the health service district is more appropriate because it would restrict the types of business that could locate there, Ralph Kline, assistant director of the Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization, has explained.

The commission first discussed the rezoning Sept. 16 at a public hearing at which time several residents presented their concerns about the project. At that time the commission did not take action on the rezoning, preferring to address the concerns before making a decision.

Among concerns was that Ora Richey Road, a one-lane road, would be used as a ambulance entrance for the campus.

Blankenship proposed the road be widened.

“It can be widened, in my opinion,” Blankenship said. “I’m not an engineer but I’m going to do everything I can to get it widened.”

Another concern was noise and lights from the ambulances as they go through the neighborhood. In general, the vehicles turn off their lights and sirens when they get to the intersection, Kline said.

The CAO is also negotiating the purchase of Annis Payton’s home on Woodland Drive, Blankenship said after the meeting.

Payton came to the Sept. 16 commission meeting with concerns of security and noise associated with the campus. Payton said Monday she was pleased with the response to her concerns.

The Ironton City Council has previously passed an ordinance establishing the area as a health service district, but Blankenship said at the last commission meeting that he would not sign it until the planning commission signed off on it.

The mayor will present the planning commission’s decision to council for its approval, he said.