Medford, Ore. — Many neighbors to the potential OnTrack facility have been reaching out to the city for help.
According to a memo sent out by the city attorney, the city can’t do much of anything to address the neighbors concerns.
“The people here are wonderful,” Medford resident Arleen Zack said.
Arleen Zack has lived in the same east Medford neighborhood for 11 years.
She says it’s a great place to live filled with families, working adults and retirees.
But after learning OnTrack had acquired the property three doors down, she became worried.
“You worry about safety issues, you worry about your property values, you worry about how the whole thing is going to work and operate,” Zack said.
If licensed, the house would become a residential facility for the dad’s program which helps fathers recovering from substance addiction.
Zack says she’s mostly concerned about the nearby children.
“Our children play in our yards here, and they’re free to come and go here during the day with no supervision,” Zack said.
In the last few weeks, the neighborhood has been voicing its concerns with the city.
But according to City Manager Brian Sjothun, there’s not much the city can do.
“There are other cities that have tried to prohibit such types of treatment facilities inside residential zoning areas and unfortunately they’ve been sued and they lost in supreme court,” City Manager Brian Sjothun.
Sjothun says treatment facilities are protected under the Fair Housing Act.
The act is a federal statute that prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, family status and disability.
Persons with disabilities are individuals with mental or physical impairments, and the term mental or physical impairment includes conditions like alcoholism and drug addiction.
Sjothun says the only action they can partake in is urging OnTrack to meet with neighbors to address the concerns.
Zack certainly hopes there is another statute that protects the neighbors.
“There needs to be some kind of a halfway point where both the people in the area… their rights are protected,” Zack said.
OnTrack has told us those in the dad’s program are trying to make a positive change.
And they plan to have more transparency with the community moving forward.
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