Title
Use Permit Application by the Hampton/Newport News Community Services Board (H-NNCSB) to Permit a Mental Health/Substance Abuse Treatment Facility at 300 Marcella Road [LRSN: 7001308]
Purpose
Background Statement:
Use Permit application to permit a mental health/substance abuse treatment facility at 300 Marcella Road [LRSN: 7001308], which is at the intersection of Marcella Rd and Hartford Rd. The property is currently zoned Limited Commercial (C-2) and Overlay - Coliseum Central (O-CC) Districts. The applicant is proposing to renovate and repurpose the existing 20,284 square foot building, which was previously utilized for hospital and medical facilities. The primary components of the proposed facility include: “23-hour observation” room, which will offer a period of assessment, treatment and stabilization for individuals up to a 23- hour period; 16 single-occupancy rooms, which will provide short-term residential admissions for individuals, typically lasting between 3 and 7 days; and evaluation rooms and personnel offices. The existing building would be repurposed and remodeled internally and externally to include a new roof, windows and doors. Improvements to the site also include an enclosed outdoor patio area for the residential component of the program as well as upgraded landscaping and fencing. The facility would operate 24/7, providing an array of intervention services, including clinical, nursing and medical assessments, crisis intervention, supportive counseling, therapy, peer support services, psychiatric evaluation, 23-hour observation, and residential crisis stabilization services.
A mental health/substance abuse treatment facility is permitted within Limited Commercial (C-2) and Overlay - Coliseum Central (O-CC) Districts, subject to an approved use permit. The facility must also be operated by the Community Services Board or a state-licensed hospital.
The Hampton Community Plan (2006, as amended) and the Coliseum Central Master Plan (2015, as amended) both recommend mixed use land use for the subject site.
At the Hampton Planning Commission public hearing the executive director of the Coliseum Central Business Improvement District (CCBID) presented the CCBID's request for denial and request for certain conditions if the application is to be approved. Staff shared that the requested conditions were considered in the staff's final recommendation for approval with conditions, and that some of the CCBID's ideas were addressed in the conditions while others were found to be inappropriate or even illegal, such as regulating the content on signage or requiring license plate readers onsite.
Recommendations:
Rec
Staff Recommendation:
Approve with 11 conditions.
Planning Commission Recommendation:
Approve with 11 conditions.