Why The Wilmington Detox Center Proposal Isn't Dead

WILMINGTON, MA -- When the Zoning Board of Appeals failed to reach a super majority earlier this month on a special permit application for a drug treatment center that wants to open on Middlesex Avenue, opponents who had fought the proposal for 17 months cheered. Their cheers were short-lived.

Betterment LLC, the group that wants to build the short-term detox center, has already filed an appeal of the zoning board's decision in Massachusetts Land Court. The company is arguing that when it submitted a preliminary subdivision plan on Sept. 27, 2017, it implemented a "zoning freeze" and that, as a result, the town has no choice but to issue a special permit for the project.

Meanwhile, Betterment is also threatening to sue the town in federal court for violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act and Federal Housing Administration rules. And Betterment may have a viable case: in November 2017 the town's own attorney raised similar concerns ahead of a town meeting vote to limit where facilities like the detox center could be located.

Special Town Meeting passed the new rules in December and, contrary to town counsel's warning, the Massachusetts Attorney General signed off on the new rules.

Concerned Citizens of Wilmington, the neighborhood group that has led opposition to the detox center, has been making moves of its own. Earlier this week it urged Selectmen to force Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman Daniel J. Veerman to recuse himself from decisions on the controversial proposal. Selectmen will meet in executive session to discuss the request on Feb. 11.

In October 2017, Veerman used the term "junkie" to refer to people with drug addiction on his personal Facebook page. But Concerned Citizens only objected to his participation in the special permit process after he voted in favor of the proposal earlier this month.

Concerned Citizens is also asking Selectmen to put pressure on the Zoning Board to delay action until the land court and possible federal lawsuits are resolved. Seperately, the group hired its own attorney to argue that the proposal would have been illegal even under the old zoning rules.

We "trust that [town officials] will ensure our bylaws are upheld and not circumvented because of threats of federal lawsuits," said Ethan Sawyer of Concerned Citizens of Wilmington.

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Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).