An op-ed published last Thursday in the Herald-Leader asks for “common sense” in the debate over Roaring Brook’s proposal for a mental health center at 319 Duke Rd. The author purports to offer some, then engages in the same thinly-veiled fearmongering that has been calledout by others.
The author begins on the topic of zoning, noting the property is in an R-3 medium-density residential zone. He seems to suggest that the conditional use for which Roaring Brook is applying is beyond the pale, without acknowledging that R-3 conditional use is explicitly permitted (with Board of Adjustment approval) for rehabilitation homes like the proposed development, as well as larger operations like hospitals and bed-and-breakfasts, and even frat houses. The simple fact is that the proposal is squarely within the bounds of existing zoning regulations. No common sense yet.
The author next argues that “scale matters,” highlighting the existing facility’s 24 beds and the proposal’s suggested expansion to 60 beds. He goes on: “Even under ordinary residential zoning principles, no one would expect a 1.3-acre R-3 parcel to support a 60-unit apartment building.”…