Bold Steps Behavioral Health outlined plans for a proposed rehabilitation facility during an April 6 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting in Peterborough, where nearly 30 residents gathered to hear details and raise concerns.
Chief Operations Officer Joe Curran and attorney William Baker presented the proposal, addressing issues including conservation, traffic and construction. The facility, which would provide alcohol and drug rehabilitation services, is proposed for a 163-acre parcel along Burke and Greenfield roads.
Baker said that if the zoning application is approved and the project moves forward, 40 acres of the property would be placed into a conservation easement. An additional 20 acres in the northern portion of the parcel would be protected through deed restrictions.
He added that the company is willing to conduct a hydrological study once the proposal advances to the Planning Board.
Curran said the facility will house 60 patient beds and up to 30 staff members. “We expect on average to operate at about 80% of beds available,” he said.
He noted that while 30 different vehicles could potentially come and go from the facility because staff members work different shifts, they won’t all be in the parking lot at once. Curran also said patients will receive transportation to and from the property and will not drive themselves.
“Patients will not be allowed to leave the property on their own for any reason,” he said, adding that walking off the property onto side streets is immediate grounds for discharge.
After 11 p.m., staff will do rounds every 30 minutes to ensure clients are in their rooms and patients will average 28 days at the facility, though some may stay longer, according to Curran.
He also emphasized that the patients weren’t criminals.
“These people aren’t stipulated to be here from prison or court-ordered,” he said. “They willingly come and want to be there to get better.”
“This is not a halfway house; these people are actively seeking help and are looking for a serene place to do that,” Baker added.
Both representatives said Bold Steps won’t modify the property’s exterior.
“There won’t be any new buildings, additions or big renovations,” Curran said. “We’re just converting the horse barn into a drug and alcohol facility.”
Interior modifications will include bedrooms, offices, a cafeteria and group rooms.
The proposal isn’t a “bait-and-switch” scenario and the proposed plan is what will be pursued according to Baker. “There are no plans for additional expansion,” he said.
Baker discussed a five-point test criterion that a zoning applicant must meet in accordance with New Hampshire law and Zoning Ordinance Section 245-8.
According to state law, the first test point stipulates if the town grants the applicant its variance request, it must not be contrary to public interest by threatening public health, safety or welfare.
“Given the nature of the facility, that is to aid those with addiction and mental health issues, the proposed use will actually promote the safety, welfare, and public interest of the town and its residents,” Baker said.
Test point two states that granting the variance would observe the spirit of the ordinance and that it must not contradict public interest by violating the ordinance’s basic zoning objectives.
Baker said the business proposal will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood and is consistent with the ordinance’s spirit.
The third test point says “granting the variance would do substantial justice.” State law says any loss to the individual that is not outweighed by a gain to the general public is an injustice.
“Substantial justice will be done as treatment for addiction and mental health issues is undoubtedly a gain to the general public,” Baker said. He added that there is no public benefit outweighing Bold Steps’ loss should the town reject the application.
Factor number four says the value of surrounding properties would not be diminished if granted the variance.
Baker highlighted that Bold Steps obtained an opinion from Andy Peterson, a veteran Peterborough-based real estate broker and authority on local market conditions.
“Mr. Peterson’s opinion concludes that if the variance is granted, the values of surrounding properties will not be diminished,” he said.
The last test point states that the variance wouldn’t present unnecessary hardship, and special conditions exist such that literal enforcement of the ordinance’s provisions would result in an unnecessary hardship.
Baker said that literal enforcement of the ordinance limiting residential drug and alcohol treatment facilities to Village Commercial and Downtown Commercial districts would create unnecessary hardship for Bold Steps.
John Marcinkus of Monadnock Lane emphasized the importance of keeping Peterborough rural.
“Many of us are looking to the Zoning Board to protect the Peterborough community and the rural way of life that we live,” he said.
Resident Melanie Bertoni of Ashlee Drive shared the sentiment.
“The thought of putting something I consider an industrial type enterprise in the middle of our neighborhood, this is not what I signed up for — I thought living in a rural zone would protect me from that,” she said.
The ZBA motioned to continue the application hearing to the May 4 meeting.