JACKSON – On Aug. 1., the Jackson Zoning Board of Adjustment is scheduled to hear testimony from an applicant that is proposing to locate a 46-bed post-detoxification rehabilitation facility on Pushkin Road.
The facility would be in the former Pushkin Memorial Home, an assisted living facility.
The applicant, White Oak Center LLC, is seeking a use variance because the proposed use is not permitted in the R-1 residential zone. Attorney Peter Van Dyke and owner Kevin Stewart represented the application at the board’s July 18 meeting.
“The purpose of the property is a multi-residential boarding house. The application is to have the boarding house be used as a residential rehabilitation center for people with substance abuse problems,” Van Dyke said.
He emphasized that the proposed use is for individuals who have already gone through a detoxification program. Residents will receive counseling in the areas of addiction, employment and reintegration into society, Van Dyke said.
The board’s vice chairman, Sheldon Hofstein, asked Van Dyke to review the operation of the facility so board members would have an idea of what is being proposed.
“After (individuals) go through the detox process they would come to the center. There will be counseling services provided in the building,” Van Dyke said.
He said there might be off-site counseling services provided, but if that was the case the residents who receive those services would be transported to and from those locations.
Individuals who are staying at the facility will not be permitted to have a vehicle. The only vehicles at the site would be employees, Van Dyke said.
Most employees will be at the building from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nurses will be on-site 24 hours a day, according to the testimony. The maximum number of employees would be about 20.
Board member Kathryn McIlhinney asked how long individuals will reside at the facility.
“Typically it is a 28-day, four-week program,” Van Dyke said.
McIlhinney asked if individuals residing at the facility would be there on a voluntary basis.
“There are no involuntary commitments,” Van Dyke said. “They will be voluntary patients; the facility does not plan on taking court-mandated placements.”
Hofstein asked if the facility would be for Ocean County residents only.
“It is going to be open to residents (of all towns). I feel we need to keep people closer to help our community more,” Stewart said, adding that all the individuals at the facility would be 18 years old and older.
Hofstein asked if an individual would be permitted to leave before treatment was completed.
“It is voluntary if somebody wants to leave the facility, however, our plan and our goal is not to just let them walk out,” Van Dyke said.
When the meeting was opened to public comment, some residents expressed concern about safety and the vehicles of 20 employees coming into their residential zone every day.
