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West Easton Council rejected a proposed 176-bed Residential Treatment Center, by a unanimous vote of 7-0.

The main cause for the rejection was the failure of the applicant to meet the requirements of security set forth in Ordinance No. 966, though there were other perceived failures, such as the departure of residents from the facility.

Since I expect the decision to be appealed, I will limit myself on what I will say on the subject.

First and foremost, if the applicant had met the requirement of security in the ordinance they helped develop, I might have voted differently. However, the ordinance states 24/7 security, 365 days per year, while also mentioning security requirements during acceptance and release of patients.

I found that the applicants opinion of personnel such as nurses and counselors acting as security and the use of cameras being perceived as 24/7 coverage, lacking in meeting the requirement of the ordinance.

I can easily associate the proposed facility to that of a school. Teachers are there to teach. Schools have a separate Security Department, whose sole function is security of the building, grounds, and those in attendance.

Nurses and Counselors should not be perceived as, or used for security requirements. That isn’t their job and for the benefit of patient recovery, it shouldn’t be.

The ability of a patient to leave the facility through a door that remains unlocked for those inside, without the secured dismissal process found in the ordinance the applicant helped create, also failed to meet the requirement of the ordinance, in my opinion.

I am by no means a NIMBY, when it comes to the topic of helping those with addiction problems. I feel for those and their families who are affected, but I had to look at the ordinance as written and ask myself if I thought all the requirements of it were met.

I did not.