Inpatient drug and alcohol rehab proposed in Montgomery
MONTGOMERY – The contract buyer of a Sunset Road property that had been a transitional living facility for women in recovery will appear before the township Zoning Board of Adjustment later this month, to see if it needs a variance to operate a residential detox and inpatient facility for men and women in recovery for drug and alcohol addiction at the site.
Woodmont Treatment Center, of Sparta, is scheduled to appear before the Zoning Board of Adjustment on Dec. 22 to determine the approvals it requires to use the two buildings on the 13-acre property for a 22-bed treatment facility.
In June, Ann Bell, the township's zoning officer, determined that Woodmont's proposed use would require a formal application before the board.
For more than four decades, the property had been used as a facility by Crawford House, which has closed.
Woodmont is not planning any changes to the site or exterior of buildings but is proposing major renovations to the interior of the buildings costing between $500,000 and $1 million, according to papers filed with the township.
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Though residents will be limited in their ability to leave the site during detox and treatment, Woodmont says in its papers that the proposed use will be "much less intensive" compared to Crawford House.
The facility will be fully licensed by the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the New Jersey Department of Health.
The property originally received a use variance in 1977 to operate as a transitional living facility for women in recovery from alcohol.
Woodmont is contending that because its proposal is a preexisting use, no formal application for use variance is required under state land use law.
If the board does not agree with that interpretation, Woodmont said in papers it would then apply for a use variance because its proposed facility would be an "inherently beneficial use … because it fundamentally serves the public good and promotes the general welfare."
Woodmont said that because of the "sheer size" of the property and its "relatively isolated location" from other residential properties, the facility would not have a negative impact on the neighborhood.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Montgomery NJ: Drug and alcohol rehab planned on Sunset Road
