City of Salem Zoning Board of Appeals
Minutes of Meeting
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
A meeting of the Salem Zoning Board of Appeals (“Salem ZBA”) was held on Wednesday, September 15, 2010 in the third floor conference room at 120 Washington Street, Salem, Massachusetts at 6:30 p.m.
Those present were: Robin Stein (Chair), Becky Curran, Beth Debski, Rick Dionne, and Jimmy Tsitsinos (alternate). Absent were: Annie Harris and Bonnie Belair (alternate)
Also present were: Tom Devine, Interim Staff Planner, and Thomas St. Pierre, Building Commissioner.
Stein opens the meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Approval of minutes
Stein notes that not enough members present at the 8/18 meeting are present tonight and suggests reviewing the minutes at the next meeting.
Stein moves to review the 8/18/10 meeting minutes at the 10/20/10 meeting, seconded by Dionne and approved unanimously.
Continued from July 21, 2010: Public hearing: Petition of DILULLO ASSOC., INC. seeking a Variance to reduce the number of required parking spaces on the property located at 142 CANAL STREET [I].
Stein recuses herself from this item and Debski presides. Devine notes that Dan Dilullo has submitted a letter requesting to continue.
Dionne moves to continue the public hearing at the 10/20/10 meeting, seconded by Tsitsinos and approved unanimously.
Continued from July 21, 2010: Public hearing: Petition of ROBERT JACKSON seeking a Special Permit to demolish and reconstruct a nonconforming single or two family structure for the property located at 30 COLUMBUS AVENUE [R-1].
Stein recuses herself from this item and Debski presides. Mr. Jackson requests to continue due to having only 4 voting members.
Curran moves to continue the public hearing at the 10/20/10 meeting, seconded by Dionne and approved unanimously.
Public hearing: Petition of COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE, INC. (owner) and HEALTH CARE RESOURCES, INC. (lessee), seeking a Special Permit for the operation of a medical clinic (methadone center) on the property located at 207 HIGHLAND AVENUE [R-2].
John Keilty, 40 Lowell St., Peabody, attorney for the applicant, said they are petitioning to use 207 Highland Ave. as a medical clinic—specifically as a methadone center. This would provide counseling, dosing, and related services. If approved, the center will lease 7,000 sq. ft. of the former Hillcrest building. The organization operates 12 centers in other communities. The treatment is for recovering addicts, not active users. We require periodic urine samples. We expect to eventually treat 250-300 clients in Salem. Right now we treat 80-100 Salem residents at our Peabody location. We expect to have 25 full and part time employees. Dosing hours would be between 5:30 and 10 am. We looked at seven other sites, and we understand the concerns regarding the Canal St. site.
Dionne asks how long a client receives methadone. Robert Potter, Vice President for Development for the applicant, said there is detox for six months to wean a client off and an individual may need a maintenance program. The average user with five years experience with heroin tries other treatments first and will need 12 to 18 months of methadone treatment. Dionne asks if they use a twelve step program. Potter said they offer space to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. We are specialized, so we refer to other facilities for such things as AIDS, mental health, and alcohol. Keilty said we have had community advisory boards to meet and see what we are doing right and wrong.
Curran asks about nighttime security. Potter says the facility is alarmed per DEA regulations, and the dispensary is secured. Nurses have panic buttons and remote controls and the lot would be locked. Curran asks if the clients are impaired by the methadone. Potter says that on the right dose, there is no impairment. We evaluate a client throughout treatment and work with him or her to make realistic goals. Curran asks about traffic volume. Potter says highest volume is in the morning. We have a high tech system to get people in and out quickly. Curran asks where the closest residential neighbors are and Potter identifies the locations on the plan.
Stein notes that the clinic would only use part of the building. Fred Massa, broker for the property, said they are looking at other commercial uses and many are by right in the B-2 zone. Steins asks how much parking there will be. Massa says 31 spaces. Stein notes that there would be 25 employees. Massa notes that the employees would be full and part time.
Debski asks if 250 clients would come in during the morning. Keitlty says the would not all come at the same time. And not all will come in single cars. Keilty says there are 44 spaces for 300 clients in Peabody. Debsi asked if the proximity to the school is an issue with many students walking and bus stops nearby. I think this would generate more traffic than other uses. Do you share space with other tenants in other locations? Potter says they do. We are well managed and owned by doctors.
Stein opens up the issue to the public.
Patricia Liberti, 3 Lions Lane, said she is concerned about traffic congestion. I am concerned that the Cloister Condominiums were never notified. This is too close to residential neighbors and the school.
A member of the public said she is concerned with security. Where do clients go if they are kicked out of the building? Potter says they only spend a small part of their time focused on difficult clients. If someone uses, we work harder with them. Police would be involved if someone is violent.
Terry McCabe, manager of New England Veterinary Clinic, 204 Highland Ave., asks if people who are not enrolled in the clinic show up, where will they go? Will they come to our veterinary pharmacy? Potter says it is a police issue.
Chuck Puleo, 5 Freeman Rd., says people live nearby and he is concerned about the early morning hours. We don’t allow retail to operate that early. The service entrance was never designed to be an entrance. This is too close to the schools.
A member of the audience says this is not an appropriate location near residences and schools. There is no need for this since there are clinics nearby. This is for profit and the success rate is not high. You are essentially creating long term addicts.
Arthur Theophilopoulos, 24 Valley St., says he is opposed to the clinic. My family uses the nearby bus stops and I am concerned about addicts taking buses and walking through the area. My business will lose customers. I think the existing locations are enough.
Phillip Blaskovich, 8 Admirals Lane, said methadone is not a cure. It is just trading one addiction for another. They have high rates of hepatitis and HIV. This is too close to the school.
John Sullivan, 205 Highland Ave., asked if 250 clients is the minimum needed to make money. Potter said they don’t share that information.
Chuck Barton, 26 Marlborough Rd., said the risks outweigh the benefits when you concentrate so many addicts in a residential area near a school. And it doesn’t matter whether it is for profit.
A member of the public expresses concern about homes and businesses without security. Burglaries could be a problem. Potter says the goal is to keep people motivated to fight their addition. If they don’t work at it, they are terminated from the program.
Marsha Gerber, 24 Bengal Lane, said the petitioner is overly optimistic. What about those who fail treatment? They can break into homes. Potter said many clients will come from Salem. It is better to have them in treatment then out using.
Erin Higgins, Lafayette St., asks about people who take methadone home. Potter said that under federal rules, only those who are clean for 6 months can take it home. It can be very motivating, but it you fail, you are back to square one.
Laura Lanes, 13 First St., said she is opposed to the proposal. In my experience, addicts are dishonest.
Todd Siegal, 28 Brittania Circle, submitted police logs for the Chelsea and Lynn locations. The Chelsea clinic had 66 calls and the Lynn clinic, not affiliated with the applicant, had 180. Judges do not allow anyone in drug court to use methadone.
A member of the audience asked if people will hang out at the facility before it opens. Potter said his patients don’t do that because the monitors don’t allow it. It would be a violation of our policy.
Stephen Burrell, 10 Britannia Circle, asked if the crash gates cover all entrances and noted that people can’t cross the divided highway to the bus stop. This is a bad area for traffic alone. Massa said the crash gates will be internal.
Jack Carroll, 205 Highland Ave., asked what the payment policy is for methadone. Potter said we bill through insurance, and if it is private pay, we bill monthly.
Mark Burns, 15 Aurora Lane, said he is concerned about traffic. People brings friends and family to the Lowell location.
Sandy McMahan, 2 Madeline Ave., said people have covered most of my concerns. I worry that you can’t cap it at 250. You could end up with many more than that. This is a poor location.
Theresa Nadeau, 7 Gallows Circle, said her kids travel this area before school. I know users. They take half of their methadone and sell the other half and get others addicted.
A member of the audience said she is concerned about addicts going into area businesses. I don’t see the benefit of this. I am concerned that some patients are homeless and will loiter in the neighborhood. You could put this in Shetland Park.
A member of the audience said he is concerned about all the bad proposals that can damage our neighborhood. I am concerned about having addicts in the community. I agree with the comments of others. This is not appropriate for the location. How was the previous application rejected? Keilty said it was withdrawn. The audience member said he is concerned about loss of investment in the community.
Mica Kreutz, 4 First St., asked what the noise level will be on weekends. I am concerned about the condition of the street, pedestrian safety, and illegal u-turns. Do your clinics increase crime. Potter said it has been studied, and they lead to a decrease in crime.
A member of the audience said he is a recovering addict and thinks the petitioner does not know what he is talking about. There is no need for methadone when getting clean. You dose up, not down, and people become a slave to the clinic. They can’t go on vacation. I am concerned about crime at this location.
Rachel Dorhety, 7 First St., said she is concerned about the kids in the housing authority property. What about children going to the clinic with a parent? Potter said it is encouraged and there is a play area for them. Dorhety said an AUL restricts child-related uses there. Massa said the AUL has to be remediated.
Paul Prevey, Ward 6 Councilor, said he is opposed. This is not something we want for Salem as we try to market the city.
A member of the audience said he is aware of a big problem. We are losing more people to drugs than wars. I am aware addicts are working on recovery. I do know there are positive results from methadone.
Amy Albert, 8 Lightening Lane, said she is opposed due to the traffic and addicts it would bring to the neighborhood. I am worried about this in conjunction with other proposals for the neighborhood.
Todd Mover, 8 Pope St, said he is concerned about property values.
Scott Morgan, 7 Savona St., said it is outrageous to propose this near the schools. I am concerned about property values and I think the applicant will profit from taking our value away. This will bring in over 200 zombies each day and I demand that the board oppose it.
Sean O’Brien, 10 Mooney Rd., said he is concerned about addicts driving. Will they be clean the first day they drive there? I am concerned about the school children.. How much revenue will the city make?
A member of the audience said he is concerned that that facility would have room to grow. I am opposed. I see the benefits for the realtor, the lawyer, and the for-profit business, but none for the city. This is in an entrance corridor and a tax-generating business would be preferable.
Jean Pelletier, Ward 3 Councilor, said the owners do take MassHealth, despite their claim that they take no state or federal funds. I am concerned about the patients who would never come off the methadone. Up to 300 children live nearby. This is a bad location and it will overburden police.
Joan Lovely, Councilor at Large, said she is opposed. I have received many emails and talked to many people. We need a different location. They could expand at the Cummings Center.
Meghan Romanovitz, 90 Ocean Ave., said the police are strained with the growing college. Traffic is an issue at the Peabody location. Why not go to Cummings Center? I don’t think we have the need. I know addicts who won’t touch methadone.
Julie Pelletier, 39 Hazel St., asked where people go between dosing and counseling. I am concerned about them milling around. Potter said they might go to work and come back. Addicts sill have lives and I don’t see them waiting around 2 hours.
A member of the audience asked if the urine samples are supervised. Potter said there is a heat sensitive tab on the container and there are other ways to tell if people are using. The audience member said she is concerned about addicts moving into the city. It is wrong to broaden the tax base with this kind of business.
A member of the audience said she supports clinics as a nurse, but not necessarily as a parent and a homeowner. What guarantee do you have for the safety of the neighborhood? Potter said once a patient is offsite, he has no control. The patients have their own lives and children and want to get on with their lives. I am more concerned about active users. The audience member asked if the applicant will put up money for more police or to fix the road.
Martin Miseandino, 13 First St., said the proposal degrades Hillcrest’s 25 years. I am concerned with traffic. The petitioner has been held responsible for a crash victim and failing to monitor a patient. I am concerned about losing interest from homebuyers. This doesn’t serve community needs, it has traffic problems, will destroy neighborhood character, and will harm the local economy. If you approve this, you can limit the use. We will ask they no methadone is distributed at the location.
Teassie Riley Goggin, 9 Wisteria St., said she is perplexed that Boston’s prestigious medical community couldn’t run a methadone clinic well. Potter said Boston now has well run clinics. Goggin asked what makes success. Potter said it would mean operating within a community without problems.
Luis Zukowski, 29 Mooney Rd., asked what the rest of the building will be. Massa said it is unknown and there are no specific plans.
A member of the audience asked what stops the clinic from expanding if the rest of the space can’t be rented. Stein said they would be limited to the space in their plan.
Steven Pinto, Councilor at Large, said that in hearing the public response, he is adamantly opposed to the clinic.
John Ronan, Ward 5 Councilor, said he authored the zoning amendment to require this kind of clinic to have a public hearing, giving neighbors a chance to be heard. The man who spoke in favor of this is a lobbyist. Everyone else is in opposition. I saw a house near the previously proposed site sitting on the market while there were rumors of the clinic coming. The clinic can’t do background checks on its patients. Methadone is more addictive than heroin and requires treatment every day, tethering addicts to the clinic. The situation with the Peabody clinic is bad, with people sleeping in the doorways of nearby businesses. Addicts will move into the neighborhood. The neighboring apartments are already hard to rent. The board only needs one legitimate reason to reject the
special permit, and there are many reasons. Some states don’t even allow these clinics. We are already served by nearby clinics. The council is opposed.
A member of the audience said he is totally opposed. It is bad for the neighborhood and businesses. The board should visit other methadone clinics.
Stan Poirier, 8 Cottage St., said the neighborhood is in strong opposition and I recommend denial.
Pelletier asked Mr. Potter to restate his position with the company. Potter said he is Vice President of Development and Communications, in charge of finding new sites. Pelletier asked if Potter thinks this is the right site. Potter said yes.
Sean O’Brien said you can’t sell drugs within 1000 of a school. Stein said she doesn’t think that would apply.
Michelle Knox, 23 Cavendish St., said this is not an isolated location. It is near a school. Addicts can drive to appointments like the rest of us do. The police will be strained with violent criminals and pedophiles in my neighborhood. If it is safe, why do nurses need panic buttons? Please reject the petition.
Jerry Ryan, Ward 4 Councilor, said he is completely opposed. I haven’t heard from anyone in support it. This will ruin the neighborhood’s quality of life. There is no good place to put it. The council appointed you and you can stop this.
Stein said I have many question I want to ask. We will not vote on this tonight. It is routine practice to give applicants a chance to address issues raised at a first meeting and we treat all applicants equally.
Tsitsinos said all of his concerns have been stated. Debski said traffic impact is a big issue. We need a traffic study. Stein said we would want a traffic study to show the higher possible number of clients. Debski said parking looks like it is inadequate. I would like comments from the police, fire, and school departments, and I would like to see the plan to address the AUL. I am concerned about the building’s other future tenants and their parking needs. Stein said we haven’t heard much about the actual community need and we need to balance interests here. We should consider a cap on the number of patients.
Curran said that for a special permit, we have to make sure costs don’t outweigh benefits. I am not convinced you can meet that threshold. I am concerned about traffic flow and whether this addresses a community need, as well as housing values. If you address these concerns, we can figure this out. Stein said she doubts we can come to enough of a balance to approve this. Keilty asked to continue to the November meeting so they can hire a traffic consultant.
Dionne moves to continue the public hearing at the 11/17/10 meeting, seconded by Stein and approved unanimously.
Debski moves to adjourn, seconded by Stein and approved unanimously.
Meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m..
Respectfully Submitted,
Tom Devine
Interim Staff Planner
In addition to the applications before the Board and related materials, the following documents are referenced in these minutes and are available at the Department of Planning and Community Development.
Police log for Chelsea methadone clinic
Police log for Lynn methadone clinic
Minutes approved by the Board of Appeals 10/20/10.
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