Supervisors to hear drug treatment facility appeals

The Carson City Board of Supervisors is set to decide on a new substance abuse treatment center in north Carson that was controversial when it was approved by the Planning Commission on Oct. 30.

Supervisors will hear the item 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the community center boardroom, 851 E. William St.

Specifically, supervisors will review three appeals of Vitality Unlimited’s proposed 36-bed, 9,200-square-foot residential substance use and co-occurring disorder treatment facility on approximately .79 acres of retail commercial land at 1625 Vista Lane. The property is part of a medical park south of the Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center, and it sits just north of the Silver Oak subdivision and golf course fairway.

After an emotional hearing in October, during which neighbor’s fears about patients in the proposed center clashed with assurances from the local nonprofit, planning commissioners voted 6-0 to grant a special use permit for the project.

“Carson City received three appeals of the Planning Commission’s decision under CCMC (Carson City Municipal Code) 18.02.060 from (1) Michael Hartman, (2) Bauerle Syndergaard Wilcox Periodontics & Oral Surgery PLLC and (3) Emerald Farms LLC, LTE 1525 LLC and Edward and Roxy Benoit,” reads the agenda. “The Board of Supervisors may affirm, modify or reverse the decision of the Planning Commission.”

Vitality Unlimited operates a 25-bed residential treatment center in the Carson City Health and Human Services building off Long Street and has been awarded $3 million through the state (ARPA dollars) plus a $500,000 commitment from Carson City (also ARPA funds) for relocation. The city has indicated the need for more space in the HHS building, according to Sarah Adler, spokesperson for the Vitality project. Adler previously told the Appeal the ARPA funding must be obligated by the end of the year.

In October, planning commissioners conditioned their approval that the SUP be nontransferable. They also required an eight-foot, non-wood, opaque fence or wall be constructed around the new facility’s interior courtyard shielding neighbors to the south. Vitality further volunteered another condition they would not seek tax exempt status for the property.

In his appeal, Silver Oak resident Michael Hartman said the planning commissioners’ findings were an abuse of discretion, and he argued the project would be detrimental to the neighborhood and decrease property values.

“Based on all of the above, the Board of Supervisors must reverse the Planning Commission’s decision to grant Vitality’s SUP,” reads Hartman’s appeal, which was received by the city Nov. 8. “Failing to do so would be a manifest injustice. Silver Oak residents are ready to take any and all action necessary to ensure this occurs, including but not limited to seeking judicial review of any further actions to uphold the improper SUP.”

The other two appellants own property on either side of the proposed treatment center. Emerald Farms LLC, LTE 1525 Vista LLC, and Edward and Roxy Benoit collectively own 1525 Vista Lane east of the project, according to the appeal received Nov. 8. Representative Severin A. Carlson asserted in this appeal that the planning commission erred in characterizing the project as a congregate care housing facility instead of a “halfway house.”

Frank C. Gilmore represented the property owner and tenant (Carson Periodontics and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery) at 1675 Vista Lane just west of the project in the third appeal, received Nov. 12. Gilmore likewise argued the project is not a congregate care housing facility and would be detrimental to neighbors.

“The Planning Commission’s conclusion that the proposed use will not harm public health and safety was not supported by a preponderance of the evidence, and ignores the inherent risks associated with substance abuse treatment facilities and halfway houses,” Gilmore wrote.

In response to the appeals, Vitality Unlimited said applicants to the residential treatment program (typically 30 to 45 days) are carefully screened.

“For those with a co-occurring disorder, applicants must be stable on their mental health medications,” Vitality said in a written response. “VCC (Vitality Carson City) level of care and operations are in no way equivalent to either Mallory Behavioral Health Crisis Center or a ‘halfway house.’”

No applicant with a history of arson, sexual offense or violence is admitted to program, the nonprofit said, except for domestic violence if it “occurred years in the past and while under the influence of alcohol and drugs.”

The proposed treatment center would be a closed campus, alarmed but not locked down. Addressing neighbors’ concerns the center would be used for court-mandated criminals, Vitality responded: “These justice-involved clients receive accountability, oversight and monitoring from the referring agency. The fact that Vitality accepts diversion clients is a benefit to the public health, safety, and welfare in that it saves costs of incarceration, and it enables individuals whose substance misuse brought them into the jail or courts an opportunity to be treated, enter recovery, and avoid such costly interactions in the future.”

Vitality also provided letters of support including from Richard Whitley, director of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

“Vitality’s clients come from all walks of life, yet stigma is still attached to receiving addiction and mental health treatment,” Whitley wrote in a Nov. 25 letter. “The proposed location at Carson Tahoe Health will be a step forward in combatting that stigma and I am confident that Vitality’s tightly managed operations and closed campus will in no way negatively impact neighboring businesses or residents of the area.”

A Nov. 26 memo from Carson City Supervising Deputy District Attorney Todd Reese said the appellants had standing to appeal, but the standard of review is to determine if an abuse of discretion occurred, if the Planning Commission’s decision was arbitrary or capricious.

Reese noted in the memo he was representing the Planning Commission and that another attorney from the DA’s Office would provide independent legal advice to supervisors at the hearing.

“Substantial evidence in the materials provided to the Planning Commission and presented at the Planning Commission hearing support the Planning Commission’s decision,” reads the concluding paragraph of Reese’s memo. “The decision is, therefore, not an abuse of discretion and should be upheld.”

More information: https://d2kbkoa27fdvtw.cloudfront.net/carsoncity/78e3068aadf3b342dea40009df02b5c90.pdf.

Before the hearing on the treatment center, supervisors will convene at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in the boardroom for regular agenda items. In other action:

• Supervisors will consider the appointment of up to three at-large members of the 911 Surcharge Advisory Committee, each for a two-year term ending December 2026.

“The committee must have at least five members but no more than seven,” according to the agenda. “There are currently five at-large vacancies. Jed Mccomber and Denise Stewart have requested reappointment. A new application was submitted by Diane Phillips.”

• Supervisors will consider the appointment of one member to the Carson City Regional Transportation Commission for a full term ending December 2026.

“Staggered two-year terms are served by two members of the Board of Supervisors and three representatives of the public-at-large,” the agenda says. “Members of the RTC also serve on the Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO). There is one upcoming vacancy for an at-large member due to expiration of a term. A reappointment request was submitted by Jim Dodson. A new application was submitted by Mark Costa.”

• Supervisors will convene as the Board of Health to review reports from Carson City Health and Human Services and the Carson City Health Officer, Dr. Colleen Lyons.

Supervisors, as the Board of Health, will also hear the second biannual report from Vitality Unlimited, which contracts with the city. More information: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2996882/2024_VU_CC_BOARD_OF_HEALTH_REPORT_THROUGH_103124.pdf.