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TO: Allan Giffen, Planning Director <br /> FROM: David Hall, Deputy City Attorney <br /> DATE: November 27, 2017 <br /> RE: City zoning regulation of methadone clinics <br /> You have requested an assessment of the validity of municipal zoning regulations <br /> restricting the siting of methadone clinics. In summary, under current federal case law: <br /> Individuals recovering from drug or alcohol addiction are qualified individuals under the <br /> Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA)and the Rehabilitation Act, i.e., they are entitled to <br /> the protections against discrimination afforded by these laws. Third parties such as <br /> treatment facilities serving recovering addicts may assert these protections on behalf of <br /> their clients. <br /> Individuals are not"qualified individuals" if they pose a significant risk to health or <br /> safety. "Significant risk" includes severe and likely harms to the community that are <br /> directly associated with the operation of a methadone clinic, such as a reasonable <br /> likelihood of a significant increase in crime, but the risk must be significant, not <br /> hypothetical or based on unfounded fears or prejudices, and the harm must be severe. <br /> A strong factual record is required to meet this test, and courts are to bear in mind the <br /> fundamental goal of preventing discrimination. No cases to date have deemed <br /> methadone clinics "a significant risk to health or safety." <br /> Applying these principles, under current federal case law, cities may not single out <br /> methadone clinics to be regulated differently than other medical clinics, because to do <br /> so would constitute discrimination under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. <br /> Cities may enforce standards (such as requiring sufficient indoor space to avoid clients <br /> waiting on the street) that apply to all medical clinics, provided the intent is not to <br /> discriminate against methadone clinics, and provided further that a methadone clinic <br /> may request a reasonable modification of such standard if the modification would <br /> provide access to treatment without fundamentally altering the purpose of the zoning <br /> code. <br /> Staff Report-Page 9 <br />