A methadone clinic in downtown Bernalillo seems less likely after planning and zoning commissioners declined to grant a permit for the project.
Mayor Jack Torres told the Sandoval Signpost the Town Council will only look at the matter if the applicant, Maximum Vitality, appeals the planning and zoning commission’s decision.
Commissioners rejected the application for a conditional use permit for a clinic at 866 Camino del Pueblo after dozens of residents weighed in on the matter.
Fabiola Munoz and Max Juarez of Maximum Vitality described their proposed project as “a medication-assisted treatment program.”
While the building would contain a methadone clinic, they said, it would include other functions, such as providing jobs and mental health services.
After their medications are dispensed every morning, according to the applicants, patients would leave the clinic and go into three hours of “intense programming” designed to help them maintain sobriety, then off to work.
Juarez and Munoz said they also planned to provide housing to the patients, who would have a 9 p.m. curfew. They said they would have armed security stationed on site to ensure patients don’t just wait for their medication near homes and businesses.
Commissioners seemed cool to the concept, questioning whether Bernalillo is the right place for the clinic and specifically doubting the appropriateness of the Camino del Pueblo location.
Juarez said the location makes sense because of the available transportation options, including rideshare service and the Downtown Bernalillo Rail Runner Express station.
“People in San Felipe, anywhere that we go north from here, they don’t have this type of care,” he said. “And I’m willing to provide complete wrap-around services to them.”
Public comments included concerns about the clinic’s impact on homelessness, increased crime and the police department’s ability to handle the influx of people in recovery.
One speaker said she lived close to a methadone clinic in Albuquerque, and that it became a nuisance, causing families and businesses to move out of the neighborhood.
Another said he expects patients not to leave the town if a methadone clinic opens there, overwhelming services, including a local church food program.
Resident Steve Amiot said he feels methadone clinics can help people, but the area near the county jail would be a more logical place to put one.
“They have a shuttle that moves around from there over to here,” Amiot said. Everybody, all the addicts in Bernalillo can go out there easily.”
Other speakers said the clinic would hinder efforts to preserve the character of the downtown area and possibly overwhelm the town’s emergency response network.
After the unanimous vote to deny the application, Maximum Vitality has 30 days to decide whether to appeal the decision to the Town Council. Company representatives could not be reached for comments on whether they intend to make such an appeal.
Torres did not attend the planning and zoning meeting, but said he appreciated the effort made by residents to speak their minds.
Until we accept addition as a disease and not a character flaw the problem will continue. I was disappointed that the effectiveness of the program was ignored and people just did not want ‘those people’ around.
Methadone clinics are effective. Research shows that the effectiveness of methadone treatment is 60% to 90% for long-term abstinence compared to traditional detox methods, which yield only a 5% to 10% success rate.
We will continue to bemoan the presence of addiction until we treat it like the disease it is. We don’t turn our backs on diabetics, why do we shun addicts?
I understand neighbors’ concerns. They are real. But what we have to remember is that opioid addicts are our siblings, parents, and children. They are not some foreign “them.” It’s us — our community. And we’ve just told them we won’t help them here, they have to go to Albuquerque. Which means, most likely, they won’t get help at all, which also likely means we are leaving them to the justice system instead, which is doing its best, but mental health is not its skill, and they don’t want it — they want mental health colleagues to share the task. Next time, the friends and family of addicts need to show up and advocate for well-tested services that actually help people with this disease, which lowers crime, which increases community wellness. People need some foundational education about all this, or the worst scare-mongering NIMBY voices will inevitably win the day.
Very disappointed 😔 could had helped a lot of people
Very disappointed ? could had helped a lot of people
I think this town Bernalillo is filled with a bunch of hypocrites they want things done but they don’t want to do them dirty work sometimes getting in and rolling up your sleeves and helping altogether really has positive and dramatic effect all the addicts in town or somebody’s brothers sisters mothers daughters and if you care about your own those could be your own but they do belong to somebody they’re in our town they are family I really do hope they appeal the process we could really use something like that out here versus nothing at all there’s a lot of people that need help that ain’t going to get it because it’s too far away So if you know of anybody that has suffered from addiction you know that without the correct and positive help they lose their lives and maybe people in the town of Bernalillo just don’t care that happens a lot and these days it’s happening way too often so if you have a loved one and you live in Bernalillo and you know your loved the ones could benefit from such a program contact your city representatives and let’s get these people some help you can’t just point our fingers when we drive by them we need to help they need us If not us then who……..
Can’t believe it
I’m glad they listened to the people that showed up to express their opinions. If you wanted it to happen, you should have been there to state that.