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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; While supporting the need for a drug treatment clinic in the area, residents Wednesday told the city&rsquo;s Zoning Hearing Board they didn&rsquo;t want one in their neighborhood and prevailed in their effort to keep it out.
				The Board voted 5-0 to deny the application by Pinnacle Treatment Centers to establish a clinic at 140 Hazle St. to dispense methadone and other medications to treat patients with opiate use disorder.
				Inadequate parking and fear the center that would have relocated from Ashley &mdash; where it&rsquo;s operated the Miners Medical treatment center for 10 years &mdash; would add to the crime in the neighborhood were at the top of the list of concerns raised by residents during nearly two hours of testimony.
				Dr. Christopher Johnston, chief medical officer of the Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based Pinnacle Treatment Centers, said the company will move on to the next property.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a common reaction in all neighborhoods. We came here to help and they don&rsquo;t want our help,&rdquo; Johnston said.
				The capacity at the Ashley clinic on Main Street next to a Family Dollar store is stretched to the limit and the Wilkes-Barre property offered easy access by public transportation or foot traffic and the opportunity of more space for counseling and the practice of medication-assisted treatment that reduces crime, Johnston said, reiterating points made by other company officials during the hearing at City Hall.
				&ldquo;This is something we deal with in addiction medicine anyway. People clearly need help, but they&rsquo;re not ready for it. This community, likewise, doesn&rsquo;t need our help.&rdquo;
				Company officials said the clinic would deal with approximately 150 people a day, but not all at once. They would stop in for between five and 10 minutes to receive their dose of medication and be on their way. The clinic, proposed for the former United Rentals property, would occupy a portion of the building. The property would be leased from 140 Hazle Holdings LLC of Pittston, surrounded by a fence and have a security guard in the parking lot, plus security cameras inside.
				Linda Joseph spoke out as a resident and president of the neighborhood association involved in the Iron Triangle and Rolling Mill Hill bordering the property at the intersection of Hazle Street and South Wilkes-Barre Boulevard.
				&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t deny it&rsquo;s needed, absolutely,&rdquo; Joseph said. &ldquo;But it should not be, I disagree that it should be in a metropolitan area.&rdquo; 
				She touched on the issues of crime, drugs and the patients from outside of the city who would go to the clinic.
				&ldquo;When are we going to start protecting our neighborhoods and giving our city not the impression of the drug place or, is this what we want to put in our neighborhoods,&rdquo; Joseph said.
				Never mind that it would be methadone clinic and look at the request for a variance to waive 150 parking spaces, said Vaughn Koter, a city resident and former member of the Zoning Hearing Board.
				Koter questioned whether the board would waive that many parking spaces for a store, bar or restaurant. The clinic needs 30 spots for its staff alone and after the COVID-19 pandemic planned to hold counseling sessions there, he said, adding the clinic would be busy from when it opens until it closes and need more than the 96 spots sought.
				&ldquo;We shouldn&rsquo;t be looking at the fact that it&rsquo;s a treatment facility. They need treatment, I think that&rsquo;s great,&rdquo; Koter said. &ldquo;They need to find a location that could accommodate the volume without having the variance.&rdquo;

WB Zoning Hearing Board denies application for Hazle St. methadone clinic