BERKELEY, NJ — It was barely 15 minutes into Wednesday’s Zoning Board meeting before members of the audience started calling out, shouting and even threatening to fight members of the board, with at least one person being escorted out by the police.
Residents were deeply displeased at the settlement hearing regarding a proposed detox and rehabilitation center on Allard Road, run by Quantum Behavioral Health, which currently operates an outpatient treatment center in South Toms River.
After being denied last year, Quantum filed a federal lawsuit against the township and Zoning Board, arguing a violation under the Americans with Disabilities act.
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The crux of the issue is that 6 Allard Road was formerly an assisted living center. And by the Zoning Board denying the new facility on the basis of it treating people with addiction, considered legally disabled under federal law, Quantum and its lawyers made the case that it was discrimination.
The suit claimed that officials “unlawfully yielded to the prejudices and fears of neighbors about the presumed harm that people with disabilities would bring to their neighborhood, often termed ‘NIMBY’ or ‘not-in-my-backyard.'”
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It’s a suit that, had it gone to court, the township would almost certainly have lost, explained Jonathan Silverstein, the lawyer Berkeley hired to represent it in the lawsuit.
Residents were angry over the course of the two-hour meeting, as they demanded answers that officials were either unable or unwilling to give. Quantum’s attorney, when questioned, simply told residents to refer back to the record.
Silverstein also reiterated several times that the hearing was not to have another hearing as was previously held. Instead, it was only to focus on the terms of the settlement.
The settlement includes a variety of changes to the plans, as well as a payout of damages to Quantum. Conditions include a pre-screening of all patients, with no one under supervision of a violent felony to be admitted, surveillance cameras to be monitored 24 hours a day, the installation of a security system to regulate ingress and egress of the building, sliding glass doors in each room to be permanently locked or bolted (except where as required by fire code), alarming all doors that allow ingress and egress and not allowing visitors to any patients except as when clinically directed, for example, for family therapy.
Many residents worried about patients being able to “escape” and terrorizing the neighborhood. However, officials reiterated that all patients are there voluntarily. No court-ordered patients would be accepted, and most would be using private insurance.
As Chairman Richard Elliott explained, “Nobody is going to spend $70 or $80,000 to go in there and then walk away.”
The board told the angry residents that they had done everything they could do, but that legally, their hands were tied.
“When we go to federal court, they don’t care about our ordinances. They don’t care about our people. They don’t care about our taxes. They don’t care about your children or my grandchildren,” Elliott said. “I’ve been sticking up for the residents. Not just me, other board members also.”
“We did everything we could,” board member Edward Gudaitis said later.
Ultimately, the board approved the settlement, though they sounded pained in doing so.
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