Ross County — Paint Valley ADAMH was denied permission to build a multi-county mental health crisis center for the second time this year, Tuesday afternoon.
I attended the meeting, and draw this report from documents in the agenda, comments given, and my interviews afterward. Continued from my first story:
After being denied a site in Chillicothe’s East End in the spring, at the end of July ADAMH bought 13 acres in Union Township, west of Pleasant Valley. They applied for road access to it, which was reviewed by the Ross County Planning Department on September 19th, and was denied. ADAMH requested a variance, which was discussed by the Ross County Planning Commission on October 15th.
The ADAMH board pointed out that a driveway has been there since the freeway was built about 1978, so their request was not entirely new – though others pointed out that it has been used only for agricultural access. Also, ADAMH said the limited access restrictions cause a hardship for any owner to make commercial use of the property.
They said the county had suggested working with the owner of the Glassburn property to share a driveway, but ADAMH said the owner was not interested in that.
Ross County Engineer Charlie Ortman said he had viewed the site as part of his legal duties in the process. He said the proposed driveway had enough sight distance, but he would prefer to see it pushed as far away from the interchange as possible.
Again, neighbors of the proposed mental health crisis center site attended, and some spoke in opposition to the project. Most brought up problems with visibility and speed of drivers going to and from US 35, and complications with large trucks and the nearby Pioneer School. Other concerns brought up included sewer, water, and drainage.
One question was whether ADAMH was aware of the site’s restrictions before they bought it – which ADAMH said they weren’t.
The Ross County Planning Commission could consider only road access, as explained by Ross County Planner Devon Shoemaker in the below video interview. Ross County (outside of Chillicothe) does not have any zoning regulations that would control a type of development.
Melanie Swisher, Executive Director of the Paint Valley ADAMH, was upset about the result and was unavailable for comment. You can hear Kelly Dennis, Associate Director, explain the situation in the below video.
He mentions that this project fulfills a need identified by the state, one reason why it was selected for a state-funded ARPA grant…which has a deadline for utilization. He said he didn’t know where ADAMH would go from here, and that they need to regroup.
Dennis said you can contact the agency at 394 Chestnut Street in Chillicothe by calling 740 / 773-2283.
The Paint Valley ADAMH Board has a website and Facebook page.
