Jul 19, 2015 4 min read

More than two dozen residents crowded into the Cumberland Township Board of Supervisors meeting in Greene County last Monday, demanding their elected officials listen to their opinions about a proposed drug treatment clinic in an industrial park.

We, too, have concerns about why their voices weren’t heard sooner.

DJ Realty Holdings LLC purchased land in the Paisley Industrial Park along Route 88 with plans to construct a 4,800-square-foot medical building for addiction services. The plan sailed through, with officials saying it fit within the industrial park’s “mixed use” plan. The Greene County Planning Commission approved a site plan in June after the township assured it the proposed methadone clinic fit within its zoning laws.

Methadone clinics can be helpful for recovering drug addicts and they should not automatically be shunned because of the clientele. But the residents at last week’s meeting demanded to know – and rightfully so – why they were never officially informed about the plan and why the township declined to hold a zoning hearing meeting to solicit input from the public. The nearest property owners, who will be most affected by the clinic, were never notified about the county planning commission’s hearing in June, prompting another hearing that is expected to happen July 27.

Even Board Chairman Bill Groves admitted the matter might have been mishandled.

“Perhaps we made a mistake not bringing it up at a meeting and letting people know,” he said during the township’s meeting. “I do not believe we have a tool to stop that thing.”

Both answers are probably right. It is unlikely the township can deny a private corporation the right to build a methadone clinic at that location as long as it goes through the proper channels.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in June 2007 that restrictions placed on methadone clinics violated the American with Disabilities Act.

That ruling was immediately put to the test when New Castle’s zoning board rejected a proposal to build a methadone clinic in that city in December 2007, citing inadequate parking spaces, setting up a court battle that waged on for nearly two years. A Lawrence County judge upheld the zoning board’s ruling the following year, but the company appealed it to Commonwealth Court, where the decision was reversed in 2009.

Cumberland Township officials cite that case as the reason why their hands are tied and the clinic planned for Paisley Industrial Park is deemed approved since the location allows for various forms of “mixed-use” commercial development.

But even though the state courts ruled methadone clinics are permitted uses with special exceptions, it doesn’t change the fact this particular drug treatment facility still must undergo a proper zoning hearing. It is not listed as a “permitted principal” use in commercial or industrial zones in the township’s zoning ordinance. However, “clinic” is listed as needing a “special exception” for the commercial zone.

It appears to be perfectly clear in the zoning ordinance that the developers are required to bring this plan to the attention of the township’s zoning hearing board for review, in which time certain conditions can be set to ensure nearby properties and residents will be protected. The clinic should receive the same scrutiny as a motel, funeral parlor or auto body repair shop would if a property owner wanted to build it in a commercial district.

However, legal precedent also shows it is very unlikely the township or its residents can do much – if anything – to stop the clinic from being built at that location if the developer brings a proper legal case to the zoning hearing board.

So while we find it very unlikely that the township can stop the drug treatment clinic, we vehemently disagree with how the process was handled.

Cumberland Township officials should reconsider their decision and hold a public hearing on this very important matter to garner feedback from residents and ensure that the developer’s plans fall in line with the community’s zoning rules.