Bluffdale snubs rehab center

A residential drug- and alcohol-treatment center won't be opening in Bluffdale next week as owners had hoped — and it may not operate in the southwest Salt Lake County city at all.

Mayor Claudia Anderson has informed Renaissance Ranch owner H.R. Brown that his business license has been denied because the facility does not qualify as a permitted use.

Brown wants to relocate the treatment center from Park City and expand at the $1 million home on the 3-acre lot at 2829 W. 13800 South, Bluffdale.

About 250 residents attended a town meeting Monday to express concern about the facility moving into the city, saying it doesn't belong in a residential neighborhood and that it would be too close to North Star Academy, a charter school just 380 feet away from the property.

At the time, it was unclear whether city officials had any legislative or legal recourse to stop the facility from moving into town. Federal and state law prohibit municipalities from discriminating against people with disabilities — including those recovering from drug or alcohol addiction — for housing purposes.

But Renaissance Ranch wanted to provide more than just housing for its clients, said city attorney Todd Weiler. The facility was planning to offer outpatient treatment and rehabilitation in addition to assisting the 15 to 20 clients who would be residing at the campus.

"A residential facility for the disabled is a permitted use," Weiler said, "but a residential-care facility is not. What (Renaissance Ranch was) proposing to do is locate a very large and complex business in a residential neighborhood. If they're going to do that, they're going to have to get a conditional-use permit."

Brown has been invited to apply for a conditional-use permit, but it's unlikely it would be approved at the current location. The city is preparing to amend city code to put safeguards in place to keep such facilities out of residential neighborhoods and away from schools.

Brown said Renaissance Ranch is a disability group home and qualifies as a permitted use. He has retained a lawyer to get a legal opinion on the law and the city's action.

"I want to know what the law says so I can do the right thing," Brown said. "If the law says we have to get a conditional-use permit, then that's what we'll do."

Renaissance Ranch, which caters to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, provides treatment to men 18 and older who have an addiction to drugs or alcohol. The facility is not affiliated with the LDS Church, but it uses church teachings and principles in its recovery process.