OXFORD – Town officials have begun work on an ordinance to restrict the location of methadone clinics in the town. Jack Allen, of the Planning Board, said the board’s Thursday meeting revealed how much work there is to be done. Board Chairman John Palmer was not available Friday to comment on the meeting.
“We’re just getting started,” Allen said. The board has planned workshops to discuss permissible locations for a proposed clinic, and any zoning changes that may need to be made. Along with officials from Norway and South Paris, board members will be working with Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments planner Ferg Lea, and contacting other towns with methadone clinics to find out the parts of the towns where those clinics are located.
Some things are already clear to the board. “They’re definitely not going to put it in a school zone or an area where there are houses or children,” Allen said. According to a June 10 e-mail to the town from Brett Doney of the growth council, the not-for-profit group Discovery House was looking into placing a methadone clinic in an office building at the intersection of Routes 26 and 121.
Towns do not have the power to ban a particular business, but can control the location of the business through zoning. Allen said that zoning changes have been made in the past in order to allow development of specific areas of town. Last year, he said, land near Oxford Homes on Route 26 was rezoned to allow Norway Savings Bank to build a financial training and processing center. The town anticipates more zoning changes to allow redevelopment of Robinson Manufacturing Woolen Mill for use as office space.
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