TOWN MEETING WANTS TO KEEP FIGHTING

Methadone Clinic Still Fiercely Opposed

pponents to a proposed methadone clinic in downtown Framingham are calling
the town's pursuit of a settlement with Spectrum Health Systems a premature
capitulation.

In its effort to reopen a clinic that treats heroin addicts, Spectrum has
been battling the town since 1996. The company is seeking more than $1.5
million in a lawsuit filed against Framingham that accuses the town of
discriminating against drug addicts.

Court proceedings are scheduled to begin next week, and selectmen,
concerned that an unfavorable ruling would financially devastate
Framingham, authorized town counsel to negotiate a settlement on Thursday.

But opponents to the clinic are demanding that the town, which is appealing
a separate case that it lost in the state Land Court, not back down before
making its case in Middlesex Superior Court.

After hearing town counsel's recommendation to settle last Thursday, Town
Meeting overwhelmingly approved a nonbinding resolution later that night
that reflected a desire to keep up the fight. Town Meeting requested that
the state representatives and senator express their unified opposition to
the proposed clinic in downtown Framingham and do everything within their
power to stop the facility.

"This is not the time to be intimidated," said Town Meeting member Larry
Schmeidler, who is also the leader of a neighborhood group known as FIMBY,
or Framingham is My Backyard. "It's premature to discuss settling before we
even step up to the plate."

Spectrum is seeking $800,000 in lost revenue, $320,000 in rental payments,
and $230,000 in attorney fees. The company is also seeking unspecified
punitive damages. Town counsel Christopher Petrini said the town has no
insurance to cover the costs of an unfavorable ruling.

"I'm pleased that there's some movement toward some reasonable meeting of
the minds," said Charles Faris, president and CEO of Spectrum. "It has
always been our intention to address an unmet need in Framingham."

Nonetheless, some opponents say the town must stave off any settlement
agreement to ensure the continued revitalization of downtown Framingham,
despite the possibility of an approximately $1.5 million judgment against
the town.

"The town has to take the risk on spending some money to protect its
citizens," said Town Meeting member Francis X. Reilly, also a leader of
FIMBY. "I don't see any advantage to settling now. Spectrum doesn't even
have a license."

Spectrum has not completed the community siting process of its state
application for a license to dispense methadone. Critics of the clinic are
hoping to mount enough opposition to derail its application.

Public health officials, however, said the state Health Department does not
have the authority to reject an application solely on community opposition.
Roseanne Pawelec, a spokeswoman for the Health Department, said the state
has never rejected an application based only on community opposition.
Previous applicants who faced similar opposition withdrew their
applications before the state ruled on them.

Spectrum had operated clinics in three locations on Waverly Street and
Union Avenue between 1989 and 1995. The company confronted significant
community opposition when it sought a new location the following year.

The town denied Spectrum a building permit and a variance exemption from
parking regulations, prompting a lawsuit. After a four-year legal battle,
the state Land Court ordered Framingham to issue Spectrum a building permit
last June.

The town has appealed that decision.

The legal battle centers on a state law known as the Dover Amendment, under
which educational facilities are exempted from local zoning ordinances.
Framingham has said that a methadone clinic is a medical facility and
subject to zoning regulations. Spectrum has argued that the clinic is an
educational facility, because the staff would spend more time holding
counseling sessions for recovering addicts than it would dispensing medication.

The discrimination suit filed in 1999 against the Framingham Zoning Board
of Appeals accuses board members of yielding to public opposition to the
clinic and subsequently refusing to grant Spectrum a variance exemption on
parking regulations.

Petrini said he has been in daily contact with Spectrum's lawyers about a
settlement, but no deal has been reached. He said the town would withdraw
its appeal of the Land Court decision if Spectrum dropped the
discrimination suit. Framingham would also stop fighting Spectrum's
application for a license to dispense methadone, and each side would bear
its own costs and legal fees.

Selectwoman Ginger Esty was the only board member who did not favor seeking
a settlement.

"The last time we spoke publicly about Spectrum, we assured the community
we were doing everything possible to fight the placement of a clinic in
downtown Framingham," Esty said. "Settling isn't fighting."