The vacant lot at 1625 Vista Lane slated for a substance abuse treatment center. A golf course and houses appear in the background Oct. 30.
Photo by Scott Neuffer.
A planned substance abuse treatment center on Vista Lane in north Carson City is proceeding despite a recent lawsuit, according to Vitality Unlimited, a local nonprofit.
“Vitality Unlimited entered into an MOU with Carson City at the end of December to secure the funding Carson City has pledged,” project spokesperson Sarah Adler said Friday. “We went through a solicitation process for the construction of the building and selected a contractor; this process secured our funding from the state ARPA award.
“We are extending the escrow period to accommodate this delay, and meanwhile are full speed ahead on the surveys needed to proceed with the sale of the land, and moving forward with final design details of the building. Meanwhile, Carson City is allowing Vitality to continue to operate at the Long Street location, which we greatly appreciate. We have hired an attorney to provide Vitality's voice in addition to the city's in responding to this petition. This is frustrating and costly but we are undeterred.”
On Jan. 3, several parties filed a petition for judicial review in First Judicial District Court, department 1, asking the court to reverse the Carson City Board of Supervisors’ Dec. 5 unanimous decision rejecting appeals and upholding plans for the treatment center at 1625 Vista Lane.
The 36-bed, 9,200-square-foot residential substance abuse treatment center would be part of a medical park south of the Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center and north of the Silver Oak subdivision and golf course fairway. The property is zoned retail commercial.
Vitality Unlimited operates a 25-bed residential treatment center in the Carson City Health and Human Services building off Long Street and has been awarded $3 million through the state (federal ARPA dollars) plus a $500,000 commitment from Carson City (also ARPA funds) for relocation due to the city’s need for the current space.
The Carson City Planning Commission approved the project by a 6-0 vote Oct. 30, granting a special use permit (SUP) with several conditions of approval. That public hearing saw many neighbors in Silver Oak and neighboring business owners opposed to the project, while employees of the nonprofit spoke to the need for such a center.
The October SUP was then appealed to the Board of Supervisors by a resident of Silver Oak and property owners and businesses directly west and east of the project parcel. The appeals included charges that planning commissioners abused their discretion, lacked evidence and based their decision on classifying the facility as a congregate care housing facility instead of a “halfway house.”
Vitality has maintained the facility is not a halfway house and that applicants to the residential treatment program (running 30 to 45 days) are screened for prior incidents of violence or sexual offenses. The treatment center would be a closed campus, alarmed but not locked down.
On Dec. 5, Mayor Lori Bagwell informed the sizable audience at the beginning of the three-hour-plus hearing that public comment would not be taken due to the quasi-judicial nature of the proceedings. Each appellant and the applicant were given time to make their respective cases.
Bagwell also emphasized the standard of review for a Planning Commission appeal, which the District Attorney’s Office maintained is to determine if an abuse of discretion occurred, if planning commissioners acted in an arbitrary or capricious way.
The Jan. 3 petition was filed on behalf of Emerald Farms LLC, LTE1525 Vista LLC and Edward and Roxy Benoit that, according to court documents, all have ownership interest in 1525 Vista Lane, the business complex east of the project. Other petitioners include BSW Holdings LLC that owns 1675 Vista Lane west of the project, and Bauerle Syndergaard Wilcox Periodontics and Oral Surgery PLLC operating in the 1675 Vista Lane location.
Signed by attorneys Sihomara L. Graves and Frank C. Gilmore, the petition makes claims similar to those in the Planning Commission appeals, alleging supervisors mischaracterized the project, abused their discretion and that the project “would introduce substantial risks and unique challenges that can lead to significant changes in the character and perception of the area.”
“Property owners in the neighboring properties are likely to face diminished property values and reduced economic potential due to the stigma and increased risks associated with substance use treatment centers,” the lawsuit says. “These concerns have not been sufficiently addressed by the Board of Supervisors, creating a clear risk of economic harm and prejudice to nearby properties.”
The lawsuit also alleges supervisors not providing public comment at the Dec. 5 hearing was an abuse of discretion and erroneous. The petition asks the court to reverse supervisors’ decision or remand their order “to allow for public comment before the Board of Supervisors takes action on the appeals.”
The respondents named in the case are Carson City, the Board of Supervisors and Vitality Unlimited. According to court documents, the parties will have more than six months to file the necessary records, briefs and responses for the case to proceed.
“Vitality Unlimited is vigorously participating with Carson City in the response to the petition for judicial review. Frankly, we are deeply frustrated by this action, as we have been a good community partner, safely operating in Carson City for 13 years,” Ester Quilici, CEO of Vitality, said Friday. “Our project is needed in order to maintain and increase treatment for persons seeking to overcome their substance use disorder. We are critical both to those individuals and to the larger health of the community. The new location near the Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center will help reduce the stigma some hold toward receiving treatment for this chronic brain disease, and we are going to proudly see this project through to completion.”