EVERETT — The Everett City Council adopted temporary zoning rules Wednesday night, delaying a permanent decision on where to allow medical businesses, including methadone clinics.
This “gives us some time to understand what those options are and then not have a perpetual ban in place,” Councilman Jeff Moore said.
The vote was 6-1, with Councilwoman Brenda Stonecipher opposing. She wasn’t convinced the rules take into account the need to address opiate addiction.
The vote places a nine-month moratorium on all new clinics downtown. Government-run public health efforts are exempt, a move sought by the Snohomish Health District, along with some public medical care events, such as pop-up clinics. It also removes any language from city codes specific to methadone clinics, a change meant to bring Everett into line with federal anti-discrimination laws.
That means a new methadone clinic could open outside of downtown. Only one exists so far in Everett, near Evergreen Way. The location was an outcome of the previous codes.
With updated rules, city leaders now can work with interested providers to find locations, Mayor Cassie Franklin said.
A permanent decision on the zoning rules may depend on the outcome of the Metro Everett plan, which hasn’t been adopted yet. It seeks to rework and simplify zoning across the city.
