REDDING SHOULD EXAMINE POLICY ON DRUG CENTERS

Redding planning commissioners did a favor for the California penal system
the other day, while at the same time doing a disservice for many of our
residents.

The Redding Planning Commission's willingness to allow drug treatment
facilities in residential areas will help relieve overcrowding in our
jails, but the tradeoff is allowing addicts to live in city neighborhoods.
Our Planning Commission last week basically decided it is okay to relax
requirements for residential areas to accommodate these drug treatment
facilities. We think that this less-restrictive interpretation of the
general plan done by the commission is something that Redding's City
Council should be deciding and examining with a magnifying glass.

We agree with Fred Weatherill, the only planning commissioner who sounded
the alarm about setting a precedent of permitting drug recovery centers
next door to single-family residences. "These treatment facilities are
quasi-penal and that use is inappropriate in any residential area," he
said. Amen to Mr. Weatherill.

The overall commission approved a scaled-down drug and alcohol recovery
center on Kenyon Drive in south Redding and signaled it would allow similar
operations in the future. The state is going to need a lot more of these
centers after July to accommodate Proposition 36, which will steer
nonviolent drug offenders into treatment programs instead of putting them
behind bars. Yet again, we have California voters approving a ballot
initiative without knowing the consequences.

The commission's action allows End Times Ministries to continue offering
drug and alcohol services at the Kenyon Drive locale. The program serves
state prison parolees and other people either referred to its program by
judges and probation departments or men who have flunked workplace drug
tests. Walk-ins also are welcome. A use permit was approved on the
condition that End Times cut back its operation from a 25-bed facility to
14 clients.

End Times actually has a good track record and was supported by some 70
neighbors. "We have never caused any problems on this road," House Manager
Dick Kimbrough said. End Times officials helped their cause by landscaping
their property and repainting the former church compound.

It was easier to justify End Times' application because it was an existing
use and enjoyed neighborhood support. It will be drug recovery centers
spawned by Proposition 36 that will incite more controversy and require
more discussion down the road. You can bet on that.

Redding's general plan already permits day care centers, older adult care
centers, churches, small markets and schools in residential neighborhoods.
The difference in adding drug treatment centers to the mix is that many of
their clients are from different walks of life. After July, many would've
been in jail on drug charges if not for Proposition 36.

The City Council should step in and consider whether these drug halfway
houses really are appropriate in neighborhoods where children live or
attend schools. Better sites certainly can be found in rural areas or
commercial districts. We wonder how many people who voted for Proposition
36 realized that these drug centers could very well be their next-door
neighbors.