LAWRENCE: Area rezoned for detox centers, health facilities

Residential medical detoxification centers and behavioral health care facilities will be allowed on a stretch of Lawrence Station Road and Bakers Basin Road, under an amendment to the township’

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Residential medical detoxification centers and behavioral health care facilities will be allowed on a stretch of Lawrence Station Road and Bakers Basin Road, under an amendment to the township’s Land Use Ordinance.
   Township Council gave final approval to the proposed Land Use Ordinance amendment Tuesday night. The Planning Board reviewed and signed off on the proposed amendment Monday night, which also changes the name of the Limited Industrial-1 District to the Mixed Use-2 District.
   The amendment permits the new uses along Lawrence Station Road, east of Brunswick Pike/Route 1 and south or west of Interstate Highway 295 — provided they meet certain conditions. Those conditions include a minimum lot size at 3 acres, and limits the number of patients to a maximum of 50 people.
   Behavioral health care facilities provide inpatient and outpatient services to treat victims of addictions, as well as psychiatric, psychological or other behavioral health conditions that require care on a short-term or long-term basis.
   Residential medical detoxification centers provide intensive inpatient treatment for substance abuse, providing around-the-clock physician-supervised evaluation and withdrawal management. Patients may be treated with suboxone or similar medications to help them withdraw from drugs such as heroin, morphine, codeine or oxycodone.
   Residential medical detoxification centers already are allowed in the Education Government and Institutions zone, provided they are located within a residential health care facility. Outpatient treatment also is allowed in the offices of physicians who are certified in addiction medicine.
   The new Mixed Use-2 zone will continue to permit the same uses as those allowed in the former Limited Industrial-1 zone. Those uses include houses of worship, garden centers, agriculture, light manufacturing, wholesale distribution and warehouses, animal kennels, general contractors and landscape contractors, and residential uses.
   Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said that “the Land Use Ordinance is a living document and it will often be amended to reflect changes in land use that reflects changes in society.” He pointed to a recent change in the zoning ordinance that now allows convenience stores and gasoline stations to be located on the same property.
   ”That being said, the matter of a detoxification center reflects an unfortunate situation in our society,” Mr. Krawczun said. “There are a high number of individuals who become addicted to prescription drugs. (The amendment) allows this use in a designated area, with access to highway transportation and a good amount of space in an area that is host to a lot of other uses in that zone.”
   The Land Use Ordinance amendment grew out of a recommendation in the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s 2013 annual report. After reviewing zoning board applications over the past five years, “the board finds that further discussion is warranted regarding medical uses (such as residential detoxification) that are not addressed in the current Land Use Ordinance. The Board spent several years discussing ‘new’ medical uses and types of facilities and requests appropriate action.”
   Those applications included a controversial use variance application that sought permission to locate a residential medical detoxification center in an office park on Federal City Road, next to a residential neighborhood. The property is in the Professional Office zone, which does not permit that use.
   The zoning board’s initial denial of the use variance application was challenged in Mercer County Superior Court. The application was sent back to the zoning board for another public hearing, but the zoning board rejected it again.
   Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson noted in her ruling in the initial lawsuit — filed by the applicant — that a residential medical detoxification center is an inherently beneficial use and that there is a statewide need for such facilities, according to the Land Use Ordinance amendment adopted by Township Council.
   ”No other municipality in Mercer County has specific land use regulations for substance abuse treatment centers including residential medical detoxification centers. (Although it is a permitted use in the Education Government and Institutions zone), Township Council finds that expansion of the location where such use is permitted is warranted, but in such places where its negative impacts may be minimized,” the amendment said.
   The ordinance amendment adopted by Township Council said that the new Mixed Use 2 zone is suitable because of its proximity to the regional highway network, its distance from residential neighborhoods “where a 24-hour operation would have a substantial impact,” and the availability of public water and sewer.