Bluffdale still facing suit over treatment-center denial

BLUFFDALE — This south Salt Lake Valley city now has a Board of Adjustments, but the owner of a proposed drug and alcohol treatment center will not wait for the board to hear his appeal.

H.R. Brown, owner of Renaissance Ranch, said he has no plans to drop the civil rights lawsuit he filed against the city last month in 3rd District Court after being denied a business license.

In the lawsuit, Brown contends Bluffdale denied him due process because the city didn't have a Board of Adjustments in place to hear his appeal. He's suing for at least $100,000 in damages.

"In this situation, damages grow every day that we don't get a license," said Greg Simonsen, attorney for Renaissance Ranch. "We used a very conservative number to put in the lawsuit. As damages continue to grow, they're going to greatly exceed that amount."

Last week, the City Council approved nominations for a Board of Adjustments and city staff has been directed to schedule a hearing for Brown's appeal.

"We'll send it through the normal, proper channels and see what happens," Councilman Bill Maxwell said.

Brown said he believes the city's action last week was "basically a response to our lawsuit."

"We feel that due process was denied to the extent that we had no other choice than to go to the district courts," he said. "We feel like we'll get a more legally informed, unbiased decision from the district court."

Brown applied for a business license Feb. 6. and began renovating a large home on a three-acre lot at 2829 W. 13800 South in preparation for a May 15 opening.

The application didn't make it to Bluffdale's planning department until March 2. And most city officials weren't aware of the facility's plans until April 23 when would-be neighbors brought it to their attention.

On May 8, Mayor Claudia Anderson denied Brown's business license application in a letter a day after a sometimes-hostile town meeting about the proposed treatment center. Anderson's letter said Bluffdale city ordinances require residential care facilities to obtain a conditional-use permit.

Brown contends the facility qualifies as a "disability group home," making it a permitted use. Federal and state laws prohibit municipalities from discrimination against people with disabilities — including those recovering from drug or alcohol addiction — for housing purposes.

"We'll be in Bluffdale," he said. "I'm not letting people discriminate against my company and the people we try to serve."

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

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