By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – The lifting last month of a moratorium on methadone clinics has not kicked off a flood of applications, according to city leaders.

No methadone clinics have applied to locate in Lewiston under rules adopted by the City Council earlier this year.

“I don’t think we’ve even had any interest,” Planning Director Gil Arsenault said.

Methadone is used to treat addiction to opioid drugs like heroin or OxyContin. Communities across the state, including Auburn, Lewiston and towns in western Maine’s Oxford Hills adopted temporary bans on the facilities last year, saying they attract drug users, drug dealers and crime.

Legislators passed a bill this spring drawn up by officials from Norway, Paris and Oxford giving local communities more control of what happens at the clinics.

Lewiston’s answer was to create a business license for the clinics.

First, the city bans clinics from locating within 1,000 feet of any school, public library, park, place of worship or child care facility with more than three children.

Next, the city bans them from either the Western or Southern gateways or along Lisbon Street where the city plans to promote retail development.

Finally, they’re only allowed in zoning districts that allow medical clinics now.

The plan leaves very little of the city open to the clinics. It allows them in the Lincoln Street area, scattered blocks downtown and on outer Main, Lisbon and Sabattus streets.

A clinic also would face a stiff licensing process, paying a $500 fee. It must pass a Planning Board review and then get City Council approval to move forward.