ZBA weighs first detox proposal under new bylaws

Just months after finalizing new zoning legislation that redefines and regulates various types of medical facilities, the town of Canton has received its first real test case in the form of a proposed 160-bed substance abuse detoxification and rehab center dedicated in part to the treatment of first responders.

The applicant in the case, ARK Behavioral Health Center, has filed for a special permit with the Zoning Board of Appeals to open the facility at the former Kindred-Tower Hill nursing home on Meadowbrook Way, located off Getchell Way on the far southeastern corner of Canton.

ARK has indicated plans to repurpose the existing structure and would only be making “small internal changes” in addition to some landscaping and infrastructure upgrades. The facility as proposed would be inpatient only, consisting of both detox and residential levels of care, with the entire second floor reserved for first responders, including firefighters/EMTs, police officers and corrections officers.

The proposed location for the project is unique in that it is completely cut off from the rest of the town by Route 24, requiring a three-mile drive through Randolph (via Canton Street and High Street) in order to access it. Getchell Way itself contains a mix of residences and commercial properties but lies within a larger limited industrial zone that also includes a commercial area on the opposite side of Route 24 where several businesses are located, including the Canton SportsPlex, Abbott-Action, and Porter & Chester Institute.

Taken together, that zone is one of only a handful in the town where a substance abuse treatment facility is now permitted, as the new zoning regulations limit such facilities to industrial or limited industrial zones that are more than 500 feet away from an existing Canton residential zone. Other permitted locations include University Road (between Dedham Street and I-95), part of Turnpike Street/Dan Road, and North Street/Will Drive.

At the initial zoning board hearing on the matter held last Thursday, ZBA Chairman Greg Pando offered some background on the new zoning changes, noting that the town had previously lacked any regulations pertaining to substance abuse treatment centers — a problem that was magnified when a developer sought approval for one in an area of Turnpike Street zoned for businesses. The applicant in that case had argued that the use was permissible because it met the definition of a nursing/convalescent home, but the building commissioner found that the uses were separate and distinct and the ZBA upheld his determination on two separate occasions.

Pando said the new regulations, which were drafted by the town planner in conjunction with the Planning Board and approved at the 2019 annual town meeting, brought much-needed clarity around the issue of medical uses in Canton and also pinpointed specific locations in the town that officials and residents felt were appropriate for substance abuse centers.

“The town of Canton recognizes this need [for addiction treatment services],” he told a packed house of interested parties and concerned citizens, including several from Randolph. “We understand that it is all our brothers, sisters, children and parents that can suffer from these disabilities … [and] this is just not a foreign issue so we took it to heart and we’re very proud to promulgate legislation that was passed at town meeting last May and the attorney general’s office reviewed and approved this fall as appropriate and substantive.”

At the same time, Pando assured those in attendance that the board would be taking its time with the latest proposal and would weigh the concerns of “all the citizens in the area,” regardless of which side of the town line their property happened to fall on.

The challenge, he said, is that legally speaking, the ZBA is expected to treat anything on the Randolph side as one vague entity, but he agreed that “that’s not the reality” and gave ample time to residents of both communities to voice their concerns and ask questions …

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Posted by Jay Turner on Dec 13 2019. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.