Community Corner

Peekskill Common Council: Judges Interpretation on Methadone Clinic Ruling 'Fuzzy'

Peekskill city officials are determining whether to challenge a recent ruling backing the Planning Commission's site plan approval for a methadone clinic on 3 Corporate Dr.


Correction: Next week's work session and Common Council meeting is scheduled to take place Tuesday. An earlier version of this story stated otherwise.
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Peekskill officials have yet to announce their plans to appeal last week's decision by Justice Lester B. Adler to dismiss the city's challenge against the site plan approval planning officials have given for methadone clinic on 3 Corporate Dr.

"The city's Common Council still believes that the clinic's health care use belongs in a medical setting and not in an industrial zone," said Bob Knight, a spokesman for the Common Council. "This is a case of 'fuzzy' land use interpretation and the Mayor and Council have the standing to bring further legal action."

The Common Council filed an article 78 proceeding against the city's Planning Commission after planning officials gave the go-ahead for the controversial project in November.

The Renaissance Project proposes to combine the outpatient therapy program it currently runs at the Jan Peek House with Hudson Valley Hospital Center’s methadone maintenance center into one facility at 3 Corporate Dr. The facility could serve as many as 275 clients, but it’s not expected that the facility will have that many people at any one time.

Officials from the Hudson Valley Hospital Center announced that they were closing their methadone clinic in July.

A number of residents and business owners also complained about potential increases in traffic and crime the clinic would bring. 

The Common Council hired the law firm of Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker and filed the Article 78 proceeding shortly after site plan approval was given for the second time. 

The basis for the Common Council's argument is that the project is incompatible with the current zoning at the proposed site. Although the zoning allows for professional offices, the scope and usage for the proposed clinic doesn’t fit the city’s definition of a professional office, according to attorneys.

There is a Common Council meeting and work session scheduled next week and officials are expected to go into executive session to discuss pending litigation regarding a pending real estate matter on Tuesday. It is unclear if that 'pending litigation' is related to the methadone clinic.


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