County Planning Decision Delayed on Drug Rehab Center; Meeting Draws SRO Audience
By Scott Johnson
LOCK HAVEN – A standing-room-only crowd was on hand at Tuesday night’s Clinton County Planning Commission meeting at the county’s Piper Building, the session mostly to discuss a plan from a Lock Haven man to buy the Woolrich Lodge property off Little Plum Run Road in Gallagher Township to establish a drug rehabilitation center for up to 25 juvenile youths.
An estimated audience of 50 people jammed the meeting room to learn more about the proposal. At its conclusion four from the audience voiced their opposition to such a facility in their township; no one spoke in its favor.
The developer is Robert C. “Bobby” Wise II who two years ago had received permission from Woodward Township to establish a similar facility off Route 664. That project never came to fruition. Wise was present for the meeting but did not speak.
County Planner Katherine de Silva and Commission Chairman Terry Murty, however, noted the Tuesday night discussion was one of several in the upcoming months if Wise’s plans come to fruition. They both also noted the large crowd was likely due to an error between the Planning Department and the township, with the township distributing a copy of the department’s staff analysis of the proposal before the commission meeting.
de Silva said Tuesday night was an opportunity for the planning commission to determine what they might recommend to the county commissioners, regarding the county zoning ordinance. If the planning commission decided to recommend a change to the ordinance, then the commissioners would hold a formal hearing.
de Silva noted the change would be in the Woodland Conservation zoning district, to make institutional residences a Special Exception Use, to add Residential Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Centers as an exception to the three-month minimum period of residence, which is currently the ordinance.
She also noted any change in Gallagher Township’s ordinance would also filter down to the six other townships the planning department currently provides zoning ordinances: West Keating, East Keating, Grugan, Noyes, Logan and Colebrook townships.
In order to gather more information from the affected townships, the commission chose to delay any recommendation until its meeting next month.
“With the special exception in the Woodlands Conservation District to amend Institutional Residential Use would not only focus on Gallagher, buy what may occur to any of the other townships,” Murty said. “We need to look at the broader perspective, to the other townships. We need a consensus occurring over time and a lot of feedback from the people on what is their feeling on this.”
Murty added the commission also needs to look at what’s being done across the region, and with the state and federal governments. de Silva said institutional residences for medical treatments up to 90 days are allowed in a Residential District, but this 39-acre area in
Gallagher Township borders the Rural Forest District on the west within the township, and the Agricultural Districts in Dunnstable and Pine Creek Townships.
“Creating a Residential District in this zone just for this single purpose would be ‘spot zoning,’ and, if passed, could be easily overturned on appeal,” she said. According to information from the planning commission, as circulated at the township meeting last week, the request “pertains to the Woolrich Lodge property at 169 Brayton Lodge Lane” presently owned by Woolrich, Inc. The 39-acre plot is currently zoned woodlands/conservation.
According to information in a planning commission analysis, Wise wants to purchase and develop the property into “an institutional residence/treatment facility accommodating up to 25 residents at one time.” The planning commission document said the lodge will be expanded
and converted into a residential addiction treatment center for males and females ages 18-26. The long-term of goal of the proposed business “is to develop plans for an additional facility, either on or off site.”
According to the opposition from nearby residents in the Turkey Trot Development, the property in question does not have adequate sewer or water service to accommodate up to 25 patients along with staff. Further, they said there are 50 housing units nearby, with a population of 35 children.
