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News (Media Awareness Project) - US VT: Officials Give OK on Plan for Clinic
Title:US VT: Officials Give OK on Plan for Clinic
Published On:2004-05-15
Source:Portsmouth Herald (NH)
Fetched On:2008-01-18 10:00:46
OFFICIALS GIVE OK ON PLAN FOR CLINIC

LEBANON - Lebanon officials have reinstated a zoning permit for a
proposed methadone clinic that was initially opposed by some members
of the city council and the mayor, according to an attorney for the
clinic's operators.

Methadone is used as a legal substitute for heroin in treatment
programs for drug addiction. The Lebanon facility would be New
Hampshire's fourth methadone clinic.

City officials complained that the initial application was misleading
because it represented the space as "retail" before they stopped
construction last week. They had said they were unaware before last
week that a methadone clinic was planned for the site, which is in
West Lebanon.

The landlord for the property of the proposed clinic site approved
changing the word "retail" to the word "office" on the building permit
on Friday. Barry Schuster, attorney for Habit Management Inc., said
the city of Lebanon then approved the permit reinstatement.

Before Habit Management rented the space, a demolition contractor
hired to renovate the property applied for a permit in the city. The
demolition contractor listed the property as "retail," presumably
because the property owner has other retail properties, Schuster said.

Three months later, a contractor for Habit Management brought new
renovation plans to city officials. According to Schuster, officials
suggested the contractor amend the existing demolition permit rather
than fill out a new one, which is why the space was still listed as
retail.

The area is zoned as a general commercial district. There are no
permitted uses for clinics or health care facilities.

Although the new facility will be dispensing methadone, Schuster said
it was unfair to characterize it as a clinic since 95 percent of the
work is for counseling and the dispensing of methadone only takes a
few minutes.

Councilors had also expressed concern that the clinic would bring a
steady stream of heroin addicts from out-of-town. Schuster said those
fears have been abated by educating the public about how methadone
clinics operate.

"Since this story broke, there has been a real outpouring of support
because there is a real concern that the population to be served is
already in the upper valley," Schuster said.

Mayor Cliff Desrosiers had expressed reservations about the clinic,
which would neighbor a McDonald's restaurant and a beauty salon.

Desrosiers told the Lebanon Valley News last week that the clinic is
not suitable for the area and it "creates a situation where something
negative can happen." Desrosiers did not return phone calls on
Thursday and could not be reached on Friday.

The owner of a furniture store next to the building told the newspaper
he was delighted the city initially stopped construction on the
building, because a methadone clinic could be dangerous to his staff.

Schuster said the initial controversy stirred by the application is
symbolic of the Upper Valley trying to retain its image as a rural,
agricultural area free from the demons of urban life.

"There's significant growth pressure on the valley, this is just
another example of that growth pressure," Schuster said. "One we would
rather not know about. It's a loss of innocence."

Habit Management is a Boston-based company that runs 10 methadone
clinics in Massachusetts and one in Manchester. They had difficulty
trying to locate a methadone clinic in New Hampshire near the Vermont
border. A bid to open a clinic in Newport fell through last year after
community opposition prompted the landlord to decide against leasing
to the company. The company also lost a battle to open a clinic in
Chesterfield, which is near Brattleboro, Vt.

The Lebanon clinic is expected to serve some patients from Vermont, a
state that has only one clinic, forcing some addicts to drive to
Massachusetts for treatment.

Earlier this week, Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Kerry Sleeper
called for increasing the emphasis on education and treatment, more
use of drug courts and more methadone clinics to help heroin addicts
stay off illegal drugs. Sleeper said more people died from drug
overdoses than car accidents in Vermont last year.
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