Jul 17, 2016 3 min read

Waynesburg Borough Council is considering amending the borough zoning ordinance to make it more difficult for clinics that treat opiate addiction to locate in the downtown business district.

The action was spurred by a plan by The Bridge into Wellness Center to operate a clinic at Victoria Square at 95 E. High St. The clinic was issued a zoning permit in May after the zoning officer determined it complied with zoning ordinances, under which a doctor’s office would be a permitted use in the main business district. Downtown merchants challenged the permit, countering that, among other things, a clinic that treats addicts would not qualify as a doctor’s office because it would see many more patients on a daily basis than a typical physician would.

At a meeting of Waynesburg Borough Council last week, Kristy Vliet spoke for the Waynesburg Merchants Guild and explained “we all feel this has had a tremendous negative impact on our businesses.”

The zoning ordinance is old and outdated and notably silent on the matter, failing to provide even a definition for what constitutes a clinic.

Waynesburg’s downtown merchants also cited problems they had since another clinic operated by A&R Solutions opened just up the street from the proposed clinic in February. It also uses the medication Suboxone to treat addiction. One business owner said he has seen an increase in shoplifting since the A&R Solutions clinic opened and said other merchants were concerned the type of people the clinics would attract would scare away their regular customers.

The borough is considering amending the ordinance to make clinics a permitted use in the borough’s manufacturing zone, which is located in the lower south side, centered on First Street. In the end, we doubt the borough can do anything to stop the clinic. But we also believe the concerns of Waynesburg’s business owners can be addressed through better security arrangements, and by having the clinics keep a close eye on scheduling patients so there is not a crowd waiting out on the sidewalk, as some have reported there being at the A&R Solutions clinic.

We have previously voiced support for multiple treatment options being made available for those suffering from addiction. A report issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration last week indicated Greene County ranked fifth in the commonwealth last year in fatal drug overdoses per 100,000 people, a toll that should raise eyebrows and underscore the urgency of treating addicts and making certain new ones are not created.

But we also believe Waynesburg and other communities in Washington and Greene counties should have the means to regulate clinics, whether it means requiring a reliable security presence or placing limitations on the number of patients that can be seen on a daily basis. We doubt simply moving clinics four or five blocks away from High Street in Waynesburg, or any other well-traveled boulevard in another community, will make much of a difference.