City Council Splits Over Drug Addiction Recovery Center in Toledo

TOLEDO, Ohio - April 12, 2018 - PRLog -- This week, a decision over a new addiction recovery center in Toledo, Ohio has divided the members of the city council.

On March 27, the legislators voted to decide if a special use and zone change permit were going be granted to the healthcare provider Unison Health.

Unison Health has been attempting to build a new recovery center in Toledo's UpTown area, which is located between the downtown portion of the city and its Old West End area.

The addiction treatment facility would have 16 beds and both inpatient drug detox and inpatient post detox services available.

Six members of the city council voted in favor of the establishment of the drug and alcohol recovery center while six voted against it.

One member of the city council, Gary Johnson, had initially voted against the center but proceeded to express that he had voted incorrectly. After being allowed to vote again, the decision became tied.

The council members who had voted against the recovery center argued that the municipality where the facility would be has been oversaturated with similar addiction treatment providers and/or facilities.
Yvonne Harper — the councilwoman who represents that municipal zone — also voted against the establishment of the center.

Harper said she's not opposed to more addiction treatment centers being built in Toledo but explained that she doesn't think another facility is needed in UpTown due to the fact that the area already has too many with rehab centers.

Toledo has a total of 40 addiction treatment centers and 24 of those are in Harper's municipality while some other areas of the city have only one.

Furthermore, the Toledo Municipal Code does not allow "group homes" to be built within 500 feet of each other and the location Unison Health already has two other group homes within that limit.

The city council members who had voted in favor of the establishment of the treatment center claimed that the impact of the opioid epidemic on the entire city is the reason why the residents of the Uptown area, as well as those of other areas, can still use more recovery centers.

https://www.drugaddictionnow.com/2018/03/30/drug-and-alco...