SAUGUS — The Board of Appeals heard from NBC Properties LLC, owners of the properties at 163 and 167 Hamilton St., regarding a special permit for the substance rehabilitation facility Psyclarity Health.
Attorney Richard Magnan came before the board on behalf of Eric and Richard Gould, the owners of the facility, seeking a special permit to alter a pre-existing non-conforming use, to add an additional 30 beds to the facility.
Magnan said the area has been owned by the Goulds since 2018.
“I want to state clearly for the record, the application talked about the addition of 45 beds, the applicants told me that this going to be reduced to 30 beds. So it’s 45 to 30,” Magnan said. “There are 30 in the existing building, and the addition would have 30 more.”
Eric Gould stood in front of a technical drawing of the facility, saying the two lots of property amount to roughly 116,000 square feet, and added the addition would add 7,000 square feet.
There are 12 staff members in the facility per shift, and the addition would see 8 more added, he said.
Eric Gould said residents had shown concern about the addition to the facility at an open house event, and proposed measures such as installing large shrubbery and creating a donated public park area for neighboring residents to utilize.
The board’s Chairperson Tom Traverse said he recalled moving nearby, his daughter growing up and having to walk nearby the facility as it was in close proximity to the bus stop, and he had never seen any problems there.
Board member Peter Rossetti Jr. asked Eric Gould what type of treatment is done there.
He said, “detox and residential,” in response.
“When (they) come in, they go through this pretty detailed admission process, they’ll get treated for roughly five days… depending on what it is… Once they’re through that detox phase, then they go upstairs to the residential piece… they go through the program, and while they’re going through programming, they’re looking for their next stop — if you need to go to further treatments, outpatient, a halfway house, or whatever it might be. That’s when they start to get set up for that next phase, and it usually takes give or take 30 days,” Eric Gould said.
The facility has multiple medical personnel on staff, including registered nurses who are there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, alongside medical assistants, nurse practitioners, recovery specialists, therapists, and recovery specialists.
Justin Parker, a resident nearby questioned if a downsizing from the initially proposed 45 beds to 30 would impact the size of the addition, which Eric Gould said it would not, clarifying it would remain the same size, but providing more office and amenity spaces.
Another resident, John Gilmore, was concerned about potential traffic which visitors to the facility may cause, however, Eric Gould assured Gilmore those within the facility are not permitted visitors during their stay, Gilmore calling Hamilton Street a “raceway.”
Gilmore was additionally concerned an incident may occur and the operators would blame being understaffed.
“Two years down the road, we’re gonna hear, ‘Sorry that happened, but we’re woefully understaffed. That’s something you hear at every healthcare facility in the country,’” Gilmore said.
Board of Selectmen member Anthony Cogliano came to the lectern and said he walks the town every day, as many residents know, and the number one thing which he sees on the streets are suboxone wrappers.
“We have a serious drug problem in this town… things pop up in the town, and no one wants it in their neighborhood, but this will help,” Cogliano said.
Town Meeting Member Matthew Parlante said there is a stigma around addiction still, “even though everyone is sort of touched by it,” and added these types of facilities “saves lives.”
Due to resident concerns, and the board still having unanswered questions with regard to the facility, which Rossetti noted still has work to be done on it, the request was issued a continuance via a 4-1 to vote, with Traverse voting no.
The board will hear more at its next meeting.
