Youth treatment center gets permit

KENT — At a special meeting on Thursday, Sept. 2, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a special permit for the Midwestern Connecticut Council on Alcoholism.

With the permit’s approval, the council will now be able to turn what used to be the Old Chestnut Inn on the Kent-Cornwall Road into an 11-bed treatment center for children ages 13 to 16.

The vote for the approval of the special permit was 5-2, with members Dennis DePaul and Adam Manes voting against it.

“We’re very pleased and satisfied with the decision and grateful to the zoning board,†council Chief Executive Officer Joseph Sullivan said after the meeting. “We appreciate the thorough diligence that they used in considering the application and we are very grateful.â€

Planning and Zoning Chairman John Johnson is one of the commission members who voted to approve the permit.

“I did not see any overriding reason why the board should have denied the permit on the site,†Johnson said after the meeting. “I believe that this kind of facility will have a very minimal impact on the neighborhood. If they end up being bad neighbors, I think we have a lot of leverage from the state because they need to get permits from them to operate.â€

At a previous meeting, DePaul noted that the potential use of the Kent Volunteer Fire Department’s ambulance service by the treatment center was an issue.

Another issue that was debated at previous meetings is the potential increased traffic the center could bring to the neighborhood.

Johnson said one of the conditions of the special permit is that the council must have a written agreement with the department over ambulance use.

“Whatever the department is comfortable with, we will accept,†Johnson said. “As for the traffic, I don’t think the center will be a heavy traffic generator. I don’t think there will be anything more than staff members coming to the center and an occasional drop-off of supplies.â€

When contacted by The Lakeville Journal, DePaul said he did not want to comment on why he voted against the special permit.

“I appreciate your inquiry, but think it is inappropriate to comment further than to say that the hearing and deliberations were thorough, and regardless what one might think of the outcome, the process worked well,†DePaul said.

Manes did not return calls for this article.

Sullivan said he did not know when the center would open.

The council is buying the property from Richard Erskine, who previously used it as the base for his company, the Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy.

“We are scheduled to close on the property on Nov. 10,†Sullivan said. “However, we are exploring the possibility of moving that date up.

“After the closing, we’ll need four to six weeks of work before we can occupy and open the building. We need to put in a new septic system and a sprinkler system, for example.â€

During the hearing process for the special permit, residents in the neighborhood spoke out against opening the center.

Sullivan said he is sensitive to the concerns of the neighbors.

“We will be working very hard to be excellent neighbors,†he said. “Wherever we have been, and wherever we are, we work hard at that.â€

According to the council’s website at mccaonline.com, the council, which was founded in 1973, operates three treatment facilities throughout the state, including Trinity Glen in Sharon.

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