Drug clinic proposal fuels 6-month ban
Middletown questions if entertainment district good fit for medical businesses.
Middletown has placed a sixmonth moratorium on several medical-related businesses opening in the city’s arts and entertainment district after a methadone clinic was proposed for Central Avenue.
City council unanimously approved the emergency resolution Friday morning during a special meeting.
The resolution, which runs through Nov. 7, imposes a moratorium on accepting development-related applications and issuing permits for skilled nursing or personal care facilities, medical clinics, pharmacies, urgent care facilities and similar uses within the urban core central, the area between the Great Miami River and the railroad tracks on Central Avenue and one block on both sides.
This moratorium does not apply to “vested interests” or “persons or legal entities with an already approved or pending development-related application,” the city said.
Ben Yoder, the city’s law director, said the moratorium provides a “stopgap measure” and allows city staff to determine the “right balance in the community.”
Vice Mayor Joe Mulligan and councilwoman Ami Vitori said council members received email concerns about the possibility of certain types of businesses from residents and business owners. Vitori said she was told a methadone clinic was considering opening downtown.
She said the location of the clinic “doesn’t seem like a good idea” for the arts and entertainment district that’s also a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA).
“Not a good mix,” she said.
She said Middletown would benefit from a methadone clinic as long as it’s placed in an appropriate location.
Vitori suggested taking “a pause and look what’s best for the community.”
Some of the social service providers in the downtown “create issues we’re trying to clean up,” said Vitori, who owns a downtown business. She said after some residents receive food boxes, they leave behind trash. Those providers, she said, must be “responsible and accountable” for their customers like all businesses.
Yoder was asked about the length of the moratorium. He called six months “a very aggressive” timetable.
He also said other cities where he has worked have considered moratoriums, then decided to make no changes.
City staff will review and make recommendations to city council as to what, if any, additional amendments to the city’s development code or zoning map may be needed.