Wayne council regulates location of addiction centers and psychiatric facilities

Philip DeVencentis, NorthJersey.com
·2 min read
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WAYNE — The Township Council adopted an ordinance to regulate the location of detox centers, drug rehabs and similar types of facilities.

The measure, passed Wednesday, amends multiple sections of the zoning code, making a clear distinction between those facilities and hospitals and medical offices. It further differentiates inpatient centers, which provide lodging and meals, from outpatient centers, which do not.

Inpatient facilities are allowed only under specific conditions and only in the government use zone. Outpatient facilities are permitted in most commercial zones.

Sign at entrance to Wayne municipal building on Valley Road.
Sign at entrance to Wayne municipal building on Valley Road.

The catalyst for the new ordinance, according to Township Planner Christopher Kok, was a proposed mental health facility and urgent care center that the Zoning Board of Adjustment rejected in March 2021.

The facility was treated as if it were a hospital for the purpose of the zoning board’s review, because at the time, Kok said, there was no other definition in the zoning code that was suitable.

Twenty-four beds in the 70-bed facility were going to be for a detox unit.

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But it was the location of the would-be complex, at 1777 Hamburg Turnpike, that irked neighbors on Ridgeview Terrace and on Sheffield Road. The 3.5-acre property is in a residential zone.

The developer sued the zoning board to reverse the outcome of the case, but a judge sitting in state Superior Court in Paterson ruled in April that the right decision was made.

“There is no proof that the Board’s decision was based on anything other than zoning and land use considerations,” the judge wrote in an 18-page opinion.

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A. Michael Rubin, an attorney for the developer, said Thursday that his client did not plan to appeal the ruling. He said a new application for the site, this time for a medical office, would be submitted in the near term.

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: devencentis@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Wayne sets zone limits on detox centers, drug rehabs, other facilities