PORTSMOUTH TO CONSIDER METHADONE CLINIC PROPOSAL

PORTSMOUTH - A for-profit methadone clinic proposed near one of the
city's most important targets for redevelopment has angered residents
and business owners who say it's neither needed nor wanted.

Cardinal Group Inc., which has proposed the new clinic in Midtown,
hopes to dispense methadone to about 100 people in need of treatment
for heroin addiction.

The proposal comes before the City Council for zoning approval
tonight.

It has been loudly opposed by residents, business owners and city
officials who say a drug clinic will ruin their effort to redevelop
Midtown into a new commercial center.

It also runs counter to Portsmouth drug statistics. Since 2001, the
number of citywide incidents of peddling or possessing heroin has
dropped steadily, according to the police.

=93We've all been working real hard for years to try to revitalize and
rescue our neighborhood,=94 said Dr. Elliott Althouse , a general
practitioner whose office is next to the proposed clinic. =93This isn't
what we had in mind. It's just not the kind of people you want to
invite into your community.=94

Methadone works by blocking the effects of heroin and other
opium-based drugs.

Experts say it is one of the most effective treatments for addiction
and, as a result, often helps decrease drug-related crime.

But methadone itself is habit-forming, and for it to work, daily
treatments often must continue indefinitely. The new clinic would see
70 to 85 patients a day between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. , according to a
proposal submitted to the planning department.

A new clinic must secure the appropriate zoning before it can be
approved by the state.

Portsmouth's Planning Commission last month recommended that the City
Council reject the land-use permit, saying the treatment center would
hurt redevelopment efforts in Midtown and that it does not have
adequate parking for its clientele.

The commissioners also questioned the need for another methadone
treatment center in Portsmouth.

Three of the 16 facilities licensed by the state to dispense methadone
in Virginia are in South Hampton Roads =AD including one, run by the
Department of Behavioral Healthcare Services, in Portsmouth. Cardinal
owns a clinic in Virginia Beach, and the Community Services Board of
Norfolk also runs a facility.

Portsmouth's existing facility, on Washington Street, has been
operating since the early 1970s and is open daily, said William H.
Park, the department's director. It has the capacity to serve 200
clients each week but currently serves 130 to 150. It hasn't had a
waiting list for nearly two years , he said.

=93If I were to look at it from the point of view of the traffic we
have, I don't necessarily see a need for another clinic,=94 Park said.

City officials, meanwhile, say they're worried that the clinic would
increase drug trafficking in the area.

Ofelia Sellati, Cardinal's vice president, told the Planning
Commission that the area was one reason her company purchased the
office building at County Street and Loudoun Avenue 2 1/2 years ago.

=93There is very much of a drug center, right down the street from where
the clinic is,=94 she said in April. =93This is where we felt we were most
needed.=94

Sandra Johnston, head of the nearby Westhaven Civic League, said drugs
are prevalent in the area, but residents were working to solve the
problem.

Sellati did not return calls Monday but has said that in her company's
experience, local crime drops when a treatment clinic opens.

In 2001 , urban planning consultants told city officials and residents
that Midtown's biggest obstacle was the poor perception of public safety .

The Midtown Business Association and the city's economic development
department both cited that in their opposition to the methadone
clinic, saying just the idea of a drug clinic in the neighborhood
would scare away customers and businesses.

=93If the perception is that your location isn't safe, your business is
dead,=94 Althouse said. Approving the methadone clinic, he said, would
be a =93death knell=94 for Midtown.

Staff writer David Gulliver contributed to this report.