LYNNWOOD MUST LET CLINIC PURSUE PERMITS

EVERETT -- A Snohomish County judge yesterday said the city of Lynnwood must
accept a building permit or business license application from the company
trying to open the county's first methadone clinic.

In granting a summary judgment, Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair said the
city's refusal to process permits for the methadone clinic was an attempt to
delay the clinic's application long enough for the city to enact emergency
zoning restrictions and prevent the clinic from opening. CRC Health, the
company trying to open the clinic near Alderwood Mall, had requested a
judge's ruling on the matter.

"The city simply cannot do that," Fair said, adding that Snohomish County
cities were on notice that methadone providers would be looking for clinic
sites after enactment of a state law in 2002 designed to make the clinics
easier to locate. Methadone is a federally regulated synthetic opiate used
to treat heroin addiction.

The emergency zoning ordinance adopted by Lynnwood in December prohibited
methadone clinics within 250 feet of city parks. The Alderwood Mall Parkway
location sought by the clinic is within 250 feet of the city's Interurban
Trail, a popular biking and walking route.

Phil Herschman, president of CRC Health, said yesterday's ruling shows that
the city's emergency zoning regulations do not apply to CRC because it
submitted its building-permit application before enactment of the
regulations.

"Our intent has been and continues to be to provide professional
medical-treatment services to individuals living in this community who are
dealing with drug addictions," Herschman said in a written statement
released after the ruling.

Lynnwood had argued that it could not grant a building permit or business
license to the clinic until CRC Health received certification from the
state's Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse. But the judge said that
reasoning put the treatment clinic in a "Catch-22" position because state
certification is granted only after a treatment clinic finds a location that
satisfies local zoning requirements.

The issue of where and when Snohomish County's first methadone clinic will
open is still the subject of litigation.

Lynnwood has filed suit in Thurston County Superior Court challenging the
new state law. The city argues that the state failed to consult with
Lynnwood about a prospective treatment clinic opening there. Consultation
between the state and cities is required under the new law.

Only King, Pierce and Thurston counties currently house methadone clinics.