January 29, 2008

Bear Creek Twp. zoning ordinance will place restrictions on methadone clinics, sexually oriented businesses

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK
STAFF WRITER

BEAR CREEK TWP. — A proposed overhaul of the township’s zoning ordinance still allows for the construction of methadone clinics and “sexually oriented businesses,” but with restrictions, a township planning consultant explained at a public hearing Monday night

Methadone clinics, which treat heroin addicts, and businesses classified in the revised ordinance as “sexually oriented,” such as strip clubs and adult video stores, would only be allowed in an industrial pocket adjacent to the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange near Bear Mountain Boulevard, Jack Varaly of Pasonick Engineering said.

No methadone clinics, strip clubs or adult video stores operate in the township and none are planned, planning board Solicitor Bill Vinsko said, but they must be accounted for in the zoning ordinance and accompanying map of zoning districts.

“You can’t prohibit anything in a zoning ordinance,” said Varaly. “You can regulate it.”

Before construction could begin, proposed methadone clinics and sexually oriented businesses would require conditional-use approval — a process involving a hearing before the planning board and approval or denial by the board of supervisors.

The clinics would be judged on several criteria, including hours of operation, the number of physicians on staff, and the impact on nearby traffic flow. “Sexually oriented” businesses would require a 500-foot buffer from churches, playgrounds and schools.

The current zoning ordinance, which was passed in 1995 and amended in 2006, required a similar buffer for methadone clinics, but a federal court ruled those restrictions unconstitutional after they were placed on zoning for clinics in Pottsville.

Resident Linda Evans spoke briefly before the planning board. She argued methadone clinics and sexually oriented businesses should have no place in the township.

“It’s a residential area, a nice area with small children,” said Evans. “I just think it cheapens the appearance, the atmosphere.”

The revised ordinance, which remains in draft form until it is finalized and approved by the township’s board of supervisors, also reduces the maximum height of wind turbines in the township from 385 feet to 350 feet.

The supervisors are expected to vote on the zoning ordinance at a meeting on Feb. 11.

msisak@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061