PROPOSED METHADONE CLINIC ON HOLD

A new methadone treatment program for heroin addicts is on hold indefinitely because it doesn't meet zoning laws.

The proposed clinic on East 12th Avenue had raised the ire of neighbors who worried about its impact on a nearby birth center, a separate drug treatment program and on the neighborhood atmosphere in general.

"We're in limbo right now," said Pat Ewing, executive director of the proposed for-profit Integrated Health Plans clinic. "We already have almost 20 patients on a waiting list. We just don't know what step to take next."

The zoning problem surfaced unexpectedly after neighbors brought their opposition to the Eugene City Council earlier this month.

After researching their concerns, city staff members discovered that an exception granted when the city adopted land use laws allowed the building at 362 E. 12th Ave. to house the Eugene Orthotic and Prosthetic Clinic from 1981 until 1995.

The exception allowed a clinic there unless the operation expanded or closed for longer than a year. In either case, the city would require a conditional use permit for a clinic to start up again, according to a planning department memorandum to the Eugene City Council.

The building hasn't been used as a clinic for up to five years, requiring the methadone program to obtain a conditional use permit before opening, according to the memorandum.

Ewing said the landowner assured clinic owners that the building was appropriately zoned for clinic use when they signed a lease and began spending an undisclosed amount on renovations.

Clinic owners may seek a conditional use permit, which is "a pretty major land use application" that could take a minimum of 90 to 120 days, said Jerry Jacobson, Eugene's land use permit manager.

The process requires a public hearing and the outcome can be appealed to the Eugene Planning Commission and then to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, he said.

The criteria for granting a conditional use permit hinge on the impact of the proposed use on existing neighborhood conditions and nearby business operations, he said.

Clinic opponents said they believe the proposed methadone program could have significant adverse effects.

"It's a difficult situation. I know there is a need for it," said Daphne Singingtree, executive director of the Oregon School of Midwifery, next door to the methadone clinic. "But we have worked hard to create a warm, safe space for women to have their babies."

If clients perceive that the neighborhood atmosphere isn't wholesome, the small nonprofit birth center may have to close or move, Singingtree said.

Zak Schwartz, clinical supervisor at the Chrysalis Substance Abuse Treatment Program across the street from the proposed methadone clinic, said his staff worries that methadone users might add to temptations faced by drug-free clients of Chrysalis.

"We wish they had a different location. It's not that we object to methadone treatment, which is a proven program," Schwartz said.

So far, Chrysalis officials haven't decided whether or how they might formally oppose any potential conditional use permit application by the methadone clinic, he said.

In the meantime, methadone clinic officials said, hundreds of heroin and morphine addicts in Lane County lack a treatment program that has proven effective in getting people off illegal drugs.

Methadone is a synthetic drug that eases the withdrawal symptoms, reduces drug craving and blocks the high if a patient relapses.

Kasey Thomas, clinical coordinator for the methadone program, said estimates of heroin addicts in Lane County range between 3,000 and 6,000.

The clinic would treat up to 250 when fully operating.

"We were ready to open last week," Thomas said. "People need to be afraid of the addicts who aren't in treatment. We will improve the neighborhood, not drag it down."