A BALANCING ACT

A federal court judge and jury handed Baltimore County a well-deserved
rebuke this week when they found that a county zoning law
discriminated against a methadone clinic in Pikesville and also
violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. The county,
which is considering an appeal, would do better to simply change the
law.

When the private, for-profit clinic, called A Helping Hand, opened in
2002, protests from nearby homeowners prompted passage of a law
requiring many state-licensed medical facilities, including methadone
treatment centers, to be located at least 750 feet from any residence.
While fears of increased crime and loitering have not materialized to
any significant extent, the discomfort felt by some close-in neighbors
has not dissipated.

But discomfort, which often fuels the NIMBY - "not in my backyard" -
syndrome, is not enough. The ADA prohibits the kind of arbitrary
limits that the county tried to impose on where treatment centers can
be placed. And Judge Catherine C. Blake and a jury did not buy the
county's argument that the clinic and its clients had not been singled
out for discriminatory treatment.

After prolonging this court fight, county officials should accept
defeat and make adjustments to the law. The same lesson should also
apply to Baltimore, which is considering legislation to get rid of its
discriminatory zoning standard for treatment centers. And county
officials in particular should be mindful of their broad duty to all
residents and provide adequate substance abuse treatment without
violating anti-discrimination laws.