News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Cookeville Planning Commission will consider next month amending the zoning code to allow methadone clinics to operate in Medical Services zoning districts.
Community Development Director Jon Ward said methadone clinics can be built in Medical Services districts in ‘use upon appeal’ exemptions. Methadone is an FDA-approved medication used to treat Opioid Use Disorder and also used for pain management. Ward said petitioners want to be able to develop in that district without needing the special exemption.
“The petitioners have submitted an application to remove that ‘on a use upon appeal’,” Ward said. “They have asked that the use be considered a ‘use by right’, and they’ve also asked for amendments to some of the standards that were established in the zoning code on where they could be located.”
Cedar Recovery Chief Strategy Officer Paul Trivette requested the rezoning of a property at 1225 South Willow Avenue from Commercial Industrial to Medical Services to expand an existing medical clinic to include the methadone facility. The property is currently owned by the Upper Cumberland Development District.
“If it receives a positive recommendation, it would go onto City Council for public hearings and an ordinance to consider an amendment to the zoning code,” Ward said. “If the Planning Commission denies the request, the petitioner has their due processes to appeal that decision to the city council.”
Cedar Recovery uses the medication with the goal of solving the opioid crisis and repairing the communities impacted by it with their treatment. The Planning Commission will consider the amendment at their February meeting.
