By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
After eight months of public hearings, the Zoning Board of Adjustment shot down a variance application Wednesday to permit a residential drug and alcohol detoxification center to open in a vacant office building on Federal City Road.
The board voted, 4-2, to reject the request filed by the Simone Investment Group LLC on behalf of the Florida-based Sunrise Detox Center. The board’s decision drew cheers and applause from some of the 80 audience members, many of whom opposed the plan.
John Simone, a principal in the Simone Investment Group, said immediately after the meeting that he had not decided on the next step, adding that “it is too early to tell.”
Zoning board members Bruce Kmosko, Cathleen Lewis, Stephen Brame and zoning board Chairman Peter Kremer voted for a motion to reject the use variance application. Board members Leona Maffei and Sam Pangaldi voted against the motion.
Mr. Kremer said the applicant had not made a case for granting the use variance because it had not proven that the use was “inherently beneficial.” Inherently beneficial uses are those that benefit the community, such as schools, churches or hospitals.
Mr. Brame, Mr. Kmosko and Ms. Lewis questioned how a residential drug and alcohol detoxification center which would likely draw most of its clients from out-of-state would benefit Lawrence Township or Mercer County, and thus be an inherently beneficial use.
Mr. Brame and Ms. Lewis pointed out that Sunrise Detox Center representatives had testified it would not accept Medicare or Medicaid patients. With few exceptions, it would accept only clients who could pay for treatment.
But Ms. Maffei argued for the variance application because it would help people overcome their addictions. She said the center would serve clients in Mercer County and surrounding counties, as well as those in Pennsylvania and the New York City area.
Mr. Pangaldi added that “if somebody needs help, the township should help them” by approving the variance application.
