Planning commissioners approve substance abuse treatment center

In an emotionally charged public hearing that focused on the nature of addiction and people seeking help, a local nonprofit has scored a major victory for future efforts in Carson City.

On Wednesday, the Carson City Planning Commission voted 6-0, with Commissioner Nathaniel Killgore absent, to approve a Vitality Unlimited special use permit for a new 36-bed, 9,200-square-foot substance use disorder treatment center in vacant commercial property at 1625 Vista Lane, south of Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center.

Vitality Unlimited operates a residential treatment center in the Carson City Health and Human Services building off Long Street and has received $3 million from the state (ARPA dollars) plus a $500,000 commitment from Carson City (also ARPA funds) for relocation . The city has indicated a need for more space in the HHS building, said Sarah Adler, spokesperson for the Vitality Project. Adler told the Appeal that ARPA funding should be obligated by the end of the year.

The planning commissioners’ decision came after much public comment, especially from neighbors in the Silver Oak community south of the proposed treatment center. More than a dozen letters were submitted as late material, the majority of which were in opposition to the project. One document contained more than 60 signatures from opposition residents.

More than 20 people spoke in person at Wednesday’s hearing. Opponents included residents and neighboring tenants and property owners in the medical park that borders a golf course between the commercial uses and residential properties to the south. The issues ranged from fears of increased crime and privacy concerns to the project’s effects on property values.

Many speakers talked about personal experiences with people struggling with addiction.

“And the last thing I want to do is discredit these types of facilities and our community’s need for these types of facilities,” said Silver Oak resident Michael Hartman. “I have a brother who has undergone treatment five times. He eventually became a drug and alcohol counselor. I understand the need for these types of projects; that’s not my problem. My problem is the fit. It doesn’t fit. It doesn’t fit in with the neighbors at all. It doesn’t fit in with the buildings next to it.”

A letter from Michelle Dudley, office manager of Carson Periodontics and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery west of the site, highlighted safety concerns and impacts to existing customers.

“While we support initiatives to provide accessible drug rehabilitation services, we believe that locating a drug treatment facility in close proximity to a working dental office with medication storage poses significant safety and logistical challenges,” Dudley wrote on Oct. 29.

Carson real estate agent Heidi McFadden said Wednesday that she has sold the majority of homes “that I think are actually adjacent, even though they said there were no adjacent homes.”

“I do believe this would have an effect on property values ​​for these homeowners who moved to this area specifically because they want to be near medical facilities, and I don’t believe this falls under the same medical facility they are looking for moved here,” McFadden said, adding that she had personal experience with drug use outside the home at her office near the Mallory Behavioral Health Crisis Center in West Carson.

Those who supported the project, many Vitality employees, attested to the nonprofit’s positive track record in the community, their high admission standards for residential treatment (typically 30 days long), and their reluctance to accept violent offenders.

“I have struggled with my own substance use disorder for over a decade, and thanks to the support I have found through treatment, I have now been sober for over six years, and seven more next month,” said Carson resident Marshall Gledhill. alcohol consultant who works for Vitality.

Gledhill argues that addiction is a health care issue, not a moral failure.

“This new residential treatment center has the potential to be a lifeline for people here in Carson and the surrounding communities who are facing one of the most challenging experiences any human being can experience,” he said. “But what does that say about us as a community when we deny our neighbors the opportunity to improve?”

Two leaders in Carson provided some context around addiction, crime and treatment.

Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong used a crime map, available at https://www.carson.org/government/departments-gz/sheriff-s-office/crime-in-our-area#ad-image-1to show incidents since the new fiscal year (July 1) surrounding the current Vitality Facility and other facilities in the city.

“I don’t want to say there’s no crime, but there certainly aren’t a lot of calls for service in the first third of this year,” Furlong said Wednesday of Vitality’s current location. ‘They usually don’t have that. It is a fairly quiet area. Not much happens.”

Michelle Joy, CEO of Carson Tahoe Health, explained CTH operations in the area.

“I would also like to add that the hospital, as well as our clinic on Vista Lane, is in the same area as the proposed Vitality facility,” Joy wrote. “We often see the same individuals in our Emergency Departments and as inpatients, sometimes for extended periods, while they undergo treatment for acute substance use disorders (SUD).

“We also treat non-acute addiction patients in our existing rehabilitation facility in the old hospital, which is also in a residential area. The hospital’s long-term plan is to move and consolidate our behavioral health services – which include inpatient, outpatient and crisis stabilization – to our main campus with a new healing center adjacent to the Sierra Building. The individuals seeking treatment at Vitality are often the same people who are already receiving care at our facilities in this area.”

The Planning Commissioners had confidence in Vitality’s activities, but placed a condition on their approval that the SUP would not be transferable. The commissioners also determined that an 8-foot-tall, non-wooden, opaque fence or wall would be built around the courtyard of the new facility to screen out neighbors to the south. And after Planning Commission Chairwoman Teri Preston asked that the property be taken off the tax rolls, Vitality proposed another condition that they would not apply for a tax exemption on the property.

“I know we can guarantee you good service and good management,” Vitality CEO Ester Quilici told the commissioners. “I don’t know what the next company is. For us, this is a legacy project. This isn’t something we’re trying to do and then sell out. We wouldn’t do that.”

Vitality also indicated that they would be working on design elements to help alleviate privacy concerns.

Preston, who lives in Silver Oak, said residents there have made “a substantial investment” in the neighborhood, and she worried that property values ​​would be affected; However, with the added approval conditions, Preston supported the SUP.

Planning Commissioner Greg Brooks sympathized with the neighbors, but said the planning commission is not a police body. He added a personal note that he had seen his sister and people in his church break free from substance abuse.

“I’m not concerned about them being 100 yards away from my house,” he said. “I don’t worry about them being in my living room. I understand the fear. Like I said, I would feel that fear myself. I don’t think fear should be a driving force to say ‘we don’t want this in our community.’”

In other action:

• Planning commissioners voted 6-0, with Killgore absent, to expand a SUP for an unlimited gaming casino, bar and additional signage on the zoned commercial unit development at 3246 N. Carson St. – near the old K-Mart building that recently saw SUP approval for storage and commercial use.

Silver Bullet of Nevada LLC saw the original SUP approved in 2016, but the property is embroiled in a lawsuit. Sev Carlson, an attorney representing the applicant, said Silver Bullet is the tenant and is not a party to the lawsuit involving the owners of the building in the mall. He explained that Silver Bullet wants to keep the project and move forward where possible.

Planning commissioners agreed to a staff recommendation and extended the SUP for three years, until 2027, without indefinite approval.