ZONING RULES REVISITED

City Considers Easing Laws On Treatment Center Placement

Renewing debate over a controversial proposal that has failed twice
before, the Baltimore City Council is again considering legislation
that would permit live-in drug treatment centers to open in more
residential neighborhoods.

Though the same bill has faced opposition from neighborhood groups in
the past, Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration is under pressure from
the U.S. Department of Justice to loosen the city's zoning laws -
which critics charge are used to limit the centers - or face a
federal lawsuit.

Supporters say the proposal would permit an expansion of desperately
needed drug treatment options for a city that is among the most
violent and addicted in the country. Others say the homes are poorly
regulated and drive down property values.

"I find it very frustrating that everybody isn't saying we need more
drug treatment and we need it now," said Bow Brenton, an
administrator at Tuerk House, a West Baltimore treatment facility for
alcoholics and drug addicts, and a supporter of the proposal. "We're
in the middle of this addiction epidemic."

Democratic City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke said that if all group
homes were as well-run as Tuerk House, there would be less
opposition. Instead, she said, some homes offer scant oversight of
their patients and that the state is not equipped to intervene when
neighbors have concerns.

"I am very skeptical because I have group homes in my district right
now, and I have no way of controlling their activities," said Clarke,
who represents portions of Northeast Baltimore. "Who's going to be
responsible for the impact of these group homes on a given
neighborhood?"

City Councilman Bernard C. "Jack" Young, a Democrat who represents
portions of East Baltimore, said he believes the federal government
has put undue pressure on the city at the same time that it has let
the issue slide in suburban neighborhoods.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm not going to support it," said Young,
who added that he has reached out to federal elected officials to ask
for a more equitable enforcement of federal housing laws in
surrounding counties. "Let's go to court."

Facilities covered by the bill include homes for juveniles and other
assisted-living facilities licensed by the state.

Dixon's administration introduced the bill in the council last month
after similar legislation failed in 2004 and 2005. Gov. Martin
O'Malley, who was mayor at the time, supported the proposal but then
pulled the legislation in 2005.

Under the proposal, residential drug abuse treatment programs - which
are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act - could open in
any residential area as long as they shelter eight or fewer clients.
The current zoning code requires City Council approval on a
case-by-case basis for any homes with more than four residents.

Advocates say that arrangement is a de facto prohibition because
council members will not support individual homes in their district
if they are unpopular with voters. And, according to a letter it
sent to the city in July, the Department of Justice agrees.

After receiving a formal complaint, the department investigated and
determined that the city's zoning code violates federal law. The
letter notes that the government will "consider other options,
including litigation" if the code is not changed.

Though the cases are not directly relevant, federal courts have
struck down similar zoning laws in the past. Last year, a U.S.
District Court ruled against a Baltimore County law that prohibits
methadone clinics and other types of treatment facilities within 750
feet of homes. That case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the 4th Circuit.

Solicitor George A. Nilson, head of the city's law department, has
recommended that the City Council approve the pending legislation
rather than face a lawsuit.

"It's better to solve these problems legislatively than to turn over
the solution to a federal judge," Nilson said.

Under the proposed legislation, larger group homes - with nine or
more patients - could open without council or Zoning Board approval
in zoning districts allowing dense residential development but would
require Zoning Board approval in less densely developed areas.

Ellen M. Weber, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland
School of Law and an activist on the issue who filed the complaint
with the federal government, noted that facilities covered under the
legislation are licensed by the state.

If residents are concerned about a lack of oversight, she said, they
must take it up with the state. Denying group homes the ability to
operate through the zoning code, she said, is illegal.

In 2006, the City Council approved a bill to make it easier to open
nonresidential drug treatment clinics - such as methadone clinics -
in certain residential and commercial areas without council approval.
City law now treats drug treatment centers the same as other medical
clinics in its zoning.

In 2005, when O'Malley pulled the residential drug treatment
legislation, his mayoral administration argued that it needed more
time to ensure that the state improved its inspection and oversight
procedures.

There has been no change, however, in the way the state handles the
licensing or inspection of group homes since O'Malley became governor
last year.

Not all council members are against the legislation. City
Councilwoman Belinda Conaway, a Democrat who represents the 7th
District, said residents who oppose the homes should look beyond
their initial concerns to the broader good such centers provide.

"These are our children. At some point in time, we're going to have
to work with them," Conaway said. "It's a terrible thing for young
people to feel that no one wants them in a neighborhood."