Tuesday, January 18, 2000
Methadone clinic fights to open here
N. Ky. watches trial outcome
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — A long-standing debate between the city of Covington and a Pittsburgh-based group that wants to build a methadone clinic for recovering drug addicts could be settled by a trial scheduled to begin todayin U.S. District Court.
Some Northern Kentucky city officials profess a keen interest in the case that delves into issues of zoning, the Americans with Disabilities Act and what cities can — and cannot — do when dealing with unpopular development proposals.
Fort Wright Administrator Larry Klein said the case reminds him of how zoning can be used to “dump” adult entertainment businesses, methadone clinics and “these type of uses” near residential areas.
Methadone, a synthetic narcotic, weans addicts off heroin, pain relievers and anti-depressants. Critics of the proposed clinic, which would serve up to 150 clients, have emphasized safety worries.
The case “greatly concerns us,” Mr. Klein said. “Certainly this type of use has to fit into any scene. But putting it near residential areas should be of grave concern.”
Taylor Mill Commissioner H. Lee Moening and Edgewood Mayor John Link also are concerned that a methadone clinic in Covington would affect residents in bordering cities.
“If the trial says you have to have a particular area to build such an establishment, (the next decision is) what would be the area to best fit,” Mr. Link said.
MX Group Inc. of Pittsburgh sued the city of Covington in 1998, alleging the city had violated federal anti-discrimination laws when it rejected MX's request to open a clinic on Pike Street, about 660 feet from John G. Carlisle Elementary School.
The lawsuit alleged that those disabled by their addictions fell under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Covington attorney Steve McMurtry questioned why the MX Group didn't apply for a special permit before seeking legal recourse. Zoning, he said, is what cities use to control how their cities develop.
“It's very complex,” said Mr. McMurtry of this week's trial. “There aren't a lot of factual disputes. It's an application of the law.”
He said that there will always be a methadone clinic that wants to open near a church or school. The problem, he said, lies in studies indicating that they foster crime in the areas.
“Where do you want to put one of these clinics?” he asked.
Covington attorney William Oldfield is representing MX. The trial's outcome, he said, could have implications for other cities. He points to a case in where two treatment programs tried to relocate their methadone clinic to Antioch, Calif.
That city's council then prohibited methadone clinics within 500 feet of residential areas.
In the end, the U.S. Court of Appeals said the ADA applied to zoning ordinances.
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