ZBA Delays Action On Wilmington Detox Center To Feb. 27

WILMINGTON, MA -- The Zoning Board of Appeals took no action on the controversial drug treatment facility Wednesday night. While the board effectively denied the special permit request when it failed to pass with a super majority, Betterment LLC is now seeking an exemption under the American With Disabilities Act. The ZBA, which was to have formally issued a denial letter Monday, now says it will revisit the issue when it meets on Feb. 27.

The video above was produced by Concerned Citizens for Wilmington, which was formed to oppose the detox facility proposed for 362 Middlesex Avenue. The group has appealed an earlier approval of the project by the planning board in Massachusetts land court, while the applicant has threatened to file a lawsuit in federal court on the grounds of ADA violations.

Related Story: Why The Wilmington Detox Center Proposal Isn't Dead

At Monday night's selectmen's meeting, a lawyer for the town counsel he had never seen the ADA applied to a zoning issue and that case law on the matter was unclear. During the meeting, Town Manager Jeffrey Hull cautioned selectmen to avoid discussing legal strategy or asking town counsel for a legal opinion during a public meeting.

If Betterment's legal strategy is successful, it would be able to use the ADA to bypass local zoning laws and move forward with its project.

"Lack Of Transparency"

On Monday, selectmen declined to get involved when a motion bu Mike McCoy to go into executive session to discuss ZBA Chairman Daniel Veerman failed. The motion was seconded Greg Bendel. Jonathan Eaton abstained, and Selectmen Ed Loud and Kevin Caira voted against the motion, which failed to pass on the 2-2 tie. At the start of the public portion of the meeting, Caira said no further action would be taken on the matter.

"The public doesn't even know who voted" to not go into executive session, McCoy said Thursday. "I've had six residents call me asking what the vote was."

A video distributed on social media over the weekend by Concerned Citizen of Wilmington insinuates that Caira has a conflict of interest because of ties to the proposed drug treatment facility proposed for 362 Middlesex Avenue. And last month Concerned Citizens asked selectmen to step into the matter and remove ZBA Chair Daniel Veerman from decisions on the detox center if he refused to recuse himself, leading to Monday night's motion by McCoy.

Ethan Sawyer of Concerned Citizens says the moves show a lack of transparency by town officials. He said his group could not even get an answer to whether or not the ZBA would need a simple majority or a super majority vote to overturn its previous decision when it meets on Feb. 27.

"Considering our Zoning Board of Appeals is an unpaid Board of Citizens that are not necessarily well versed in matters of Federal Law, the February 27th meeting will put quite a burden on the members of the Board," Sawyer said. "The Town has not been transparent with the citizens with regards to what the approach will be on February 27th, and it appears the Town is more concerned with who is going to sue them than they are about transparency."

Correction: An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information about the land court appeal of the planning board's approval of the project. Patch regrets the error.

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Patch file photo. Video by Concerned Citizens of Wilmington.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).