SAUGUS — The Board of Appeals approved a motion to allow a 30-bed expansion for Psyclarity Health, a substance rehabilitation facility located at 163 Hamilton St.
After being issued a continuance at the last Board of Appeals meeting, NBC Properties LLC owners Eric and Richard Gould received good news the last meeting.
Multiple residents stood during the meeting, worried about the possible security issues the facility would have with the additional beds.
Meeting attendee Ronald Ruszkowski shared his security concerns when discussing an incident that occurred outside his house.
“We had two individuals passed out in front of 167 Hamilton St.,” Ruszkowski stated.
He then went on to read the police report, which went into detail on the residents who managed to leave the building intoxicated. Ruszkowski emphasized that he wasn’t against the company, but against the expansion due to a possible lack of security.
“Security-wise, that’s our concern in our neighborhood, and I think if you add another 30 residents there, it doubled,” he stated.
Town Meeting Member Matthew Parlante also shared his thoughts during the meeting.
“I just want to remind people that this is a medical facility where people are going to get help… I think Eric and his team have done an amazing job listening to concerns, restructuring the design, hiring security or looking into all of that to try and really work with the neighbors to make sure their concerns were listened to,” Parlante stated.
He said the expansion wasn’t bad for the community and the company has helped many Saugus residents and continues to do so.
In the end, it was a unanimous 5-0 decision by the Board of Appeals in favor of NBC Properties LLC after a short discussion on adding more security to the building, and the company will now be moving forward to meet with the Planning Board.
