Rehab-center owner appeals denial
State law dictates that the issue now go before the city's Board of Adjustments. Unfortunately for Renaissance Ranch owner H.R. Brown, who wants to put the treatment center in the city, Bluffdale currently doesn't have such a board.
"They have to take some time to appoint one before they can have a hearing," Brown said. "I'm not sure when that will be."
Bluffdale City Councilman Bill Maxwell confirmed that the city does not have an active Board of Adjustments. The City Council has been waiting for Mayor Claudia Anderson to nominate willing volunteers for its approval, Maxwell said.
Calls to Anderson for comment were not immediately returned.
The Bluffdale Board of Adjustments convenes on a case-by-case basis, and it doesn't happen very often, Maxwell said. Still, Brown's appeal is one of two waiting for a hearing, he said.
"I hope the mayor brings (nominations) forward at our next City Council meeting," Maxwell said.
The delay in getting his appeal heard is the latest obstacle for Brown, who wants to move his faith-based drug- and alcohol-treatment center from Park City to Bluffdale.
Vaughn Pickell, Bluffdale's community-development director, said at a town meeting May 7 that the application didn't make it to the planning department until March 2, and most city officials weren't aware of the facility's plans until April 23, when would-be neighbors of the center brought it to their attention.
About 250 residents attended the meeting to express concern about the facility moving into the city. They said the facility doesn't belong in a residential neighborhood and that it would be too close to North Star Academy, a charter school just 380 feet from the property.
Anderson denied the business-license application in a letter dated May 8, stating that Bluffdale city ordinances require residential-care facilities to obtain a conditional-use permit.
Brown contends that the treatment center qualifies as a "disability group home," making it a permitted use. Federal and state laws prohibit municipalities from discriminating against people with disabilities — including those recovering from drug or alcohol addiction — for housing purposes.
Brown said he has also filed for a conditional-use permit "to cover our tails, but we don't feel we need one."
Renaissance Ranch, which caters to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, provides treatment to men 18 and older who have an addiction to drugs and alcohol. The facility is not affiliated with the LDS Church, but it uses church teachings and principles in its recovery process.
E-mail: jpage@desnews.com
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