Planning commission proposal would ban methadone clinics near schools, day-care centers in Bristol, Tenn.

This article is from TriCities.com and the original link is


http://www2.tricities.com/news/2010/sep/21/planning-commission-oroposal-would-ban-methadone-c-ar-516234/


Planning commission proposal would ban methadone clinics near schools, day-care centers in Bristol, Tenn.


BRISTOL, Tenn. --
The city’s Planning Commission approved a proposal Monday night that would limit where methadone clinics and substance-abuse treatment centers could be located – including banning them within 1,000 feet of a school or day-care center.

But Planning Commission members also want to expand the ban to prevent treatment facilities from going in near churches or liquor stores. They requested that city officials look into adding those sites to the proposal before it’s officially presented to City Council, which has the final vote.

“We’re being pro-active, rather than reactive,” commission member Mark Webb said of the proposal, which would only allow treatment facilities in general-industrial, non-residential areas.

Community Development Director Shari Brown also said the city needs to work quickly to set clear guidelines on treatment facilities. Brown pointed to the ongoing controversy in Kingsport, Tenn., where city officials are scrambling to block a Dallas firm’s plan to turn a former local restaurant into a methadone clinic.

“We’re choosing to learn from what’s happening in other communities,” Brown told Planning Commission members.

She added that while Bristol can’t completely keep treatment centers out of the city, “it’s about trying to find places for them where there’s the least conflict possible with residential-zoned areas.”

The proposal would also require that methadone and substance-abuse facilities be non-residential sites, where patients receive treatment on an outpatient basis.

Last year, the Planning Commission approved a controversial plan allowing the Haven of Rest, the Christian rescue mission, to build Grace Home of Bristol, an 18-bed residential treatment facility for women on Second Street.

The proposal drew vocal opposition from the nearby YWCA of Bristol, which expressed concern about having a site treating adults recovering from addictions so close to its State Street building, which includes a children’s playground.

Now under construction, Grace Home is expected to open early next year.

In other Planning Commission activity Monday, Brown said the city may partner with Habitat for Humanity on some home-building projects in the city, and the work could be supported by federal Community Development Grant money.