Agenda - Planning Commission - 10/06/1998

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Z.B. September 25, 1998 -- Page 5 7/,, The board held a public hearing, at which several interested parties testified. The sheriff's department said the clinic would increase crime in the neighborhood, decrease property values, and create anxiety for area residents. A local doctor said the clinic would threaten his practice. The owner of a nearby commercial building said the clinic would reduce occupancy in local buildings, and said he lived nearby and didn't want his daughters subjected to such an environment. Discovery House said at least one physician, one or more registered nurses, and one or more pharmacists staffed all of its clinics, and doctor's orders were necessary to provide services to patients. Additionally, all of its clinics pro- ' vided the following services to virtually all patients: medical assessments at every visit; comprehensive physical exams; lab analysis of blood and urine; individual and group counseling; Tuberculosis; HIV, and Hepatitis testing; and methadone treatments if prescribed. The board ruled the clinic wasn't a permitted use, concluding it would be a drug distribution center, not an "office of a professional.": Discovery House appealed to court. The board responded by arguing Dis- covery House didn't provide medical care to methadone recipients and didn't constitute a recognized profession, the treatment facility Wouldn't be the sole full-time office of a physician so it couldn't function as a "professional office," and heroin 'addiction wasn't a problem related to "public health." . DECISION: Reversed. The proposed methadone treatment facility was a Permitted use in the district. The proPosed facility fit. squarely 'under the language .allowing "offices for physiciansl..'and other professions dealing with public health." Contrary to the board's argument, treating drug-addicted indi~)iduals-did constitute medical cafe. Methadone treatment, while not a cure, treated the problem of heroin ~//:ldition. A. facility that offered Counseiirig ahd methadone treatmentsl sudh as DiscOvery House;s clinics~ clearly provided some lek, el of medical care to indi;qiduals seek!ng hefp' for the problem of heroin' addition. The clinic wouldn't be merely a drug dispensary;. Although th~ propriety of methadone treatment was hotly' contested in medical and public circles, whether it was the most effective or wisest form of treatment wasn't an issue for the cohrts. The only question Was whether the clinic would constitute ar/office for physicians or professionals dealing with the public health and it would. In addition to dispensing methadorie, the clinic would provide' medical exams, medical advice, and medical testing. The clinic didn't have to be the sole, full-time office of a physician to qualify. If this were true, then the ordinance would preclude a doctor who had several offices around the city, but was never in one location at all times, from operat- ing in a hospital district. More importantly, the ordinance read "office for phy- sicians ... and other professions" -- not the sole office of a physician. see also: Barnes u City of Anderso~, 642 N.E. 2d 1004 (I994). see also: Metropolitan Board ofZonh~g v. Shell Oil Co., 395 N.E. 2d 1283 (1979).