The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Facility plans up in the air
Medical marijuana dispensary, opioid treatment facility seek same location
Plans for the facility at 382 Blackbrook Road in Painesville Township are in question.
Although The Ohio Board of Pharmacy recently awarded a provisional dispensary license to 127 OH LLC at that address, another business is pursuing that same location.
Signature Health wants to open a residential opioid treatment facility, said Painesville Township Administrator Michael Manary.
“This would be an inpatient treatment facility that would provide recovery and counseling services to people who voluntarily want to become drug-free,” he said.
“The people who will use this treatment center will check themselves in voluntarily. They will not be people who are sentenced to this facility by a court.”
The proposed facility would open with 16 inpatient beds. They are requesting that they be able
to expand to 24 beds within one to five years, he said.
Meanwhile, OH 127, LLC plans to open a fully compliant medical marijuana dispensary as soon as the law allows.
“Their business plan includes the sale and dispensing of legally approved medical marijuana cannabis, along with ancillary products,” Manary said. “They will also offer consultative services relating to medical cannabis product recommendations and other medical cannabis consultative services.”
Tom Christopher, the owner of 382 Blackbrook Road, weighed in on the discussion.
“Like many others, our family has been devastated by the opioid wave sweeping into Ohio,” Christopher said. “Equally, we have many friends/family members who are benefitting from medicinal marijuana. Thus, either medical use of this will provide relief to those in need. We celebrate the Board of Trustees’ courage and vision to bring such a secure, stateof-the-art and life-saving center for so many in need”.
Both businesses had to meet township requirements.
“The process was the same for both applicants,” Manary said. “A public hearing was held before the BZA (Board of Zoning Appeals) on October 24, 2017, to hear OH 127, LLC’s application for a Conditional Use Permit. The permit was approved by the BZA.”
Signature Health applied for a Conditional Use Permit before the Board of Zoning Appeals in February, Manary said.
A group of residents voiced opposition to the proposed treatment center.
“The BZA denied the Conditional Use Permit based on the group of people who attended this meeting,” he said. “Signature Health had 30 days to appeal the BZA decision, which they did not do.”
Since then, an organization by the name of North East Ohio Health Services, dba Connections, has submitted an application for a Similar Use Declaration to open the same type of facility, Manary added.
“The trustees met with the executive director of North East Ohio Health Services several times and the two sides discussed the objections that the residents and business owners raised at the BZA meeting in February,” he said. “North East Ohio Health Services agreed to implement procedures and practices that would address people’s concerns. They enhanced security around the facility, added an on-site security guard, added security cameras, agreed to provide transportation to anyone who chooses to leave the facility without prearranged transportation, and a few other things.”
There will be a public hearing on the issue at 7 p.m. June 12 at Painesville Township Town Hall, 55 Nye Road.
“In the interest of good public service, the trustees decided to hold a public hearing to give people the opportunity to ask questions and to voice their opinions on the facility,” Manary said. “We are going the extra mile to make sure everyone has an opportunity to have input on the proposed treatment facility.”
Manary said the township does not have a preference for which business occupies 382 Blackbrook Road.
“The trustees think that both businesses provide a legal and needed service to the community,” he said. “We ended up in this situation because the property owner made deals with two potential occupants for the same property. The trustees approved both businesses, but we do not know how the property owner will decide which business will occupy the building.”
Christopher says he is leaning towards the opioid treatment facility.
“While both medical uses are positive, we naturally favor a state-of-art/highly secure substance abuse center for all the obvious reasons,” he said.
“Ironically, it is the less lucrative option for us but in the end, don’t we all want to try and stop this horrible epidemic — how many lives can be saved?”