Start, Inc. v. Baltimore County, Md.
| Citation | 295 F.Supp.2d 569 |
| Decision Date | 17 December 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV.A. CCB-03-2051.,CIV.A. CCB-03-2051. |
| Parties | START, INC., v. BALTIMORE COUNTY, MARYLAND, et al. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
Vicki L. Dexter, Irwin, Green and Dexter LLP, Towson, MD, for Plaintiff.
Jeffrey Grant Cook, Baltimore County Law Department, Towson, MD, for Defendant.
This lawsuit involves efforts by the plaintiff, START, Inc. ("START"), to open a methadone clinic for recovering opiate addicts in Baltimore County, Maryland. Having been denied an essential zoning permit, START brought suit against Baltimore County, the Baltimore County Department of Permits and Development Management ("Permits Department"), the Office of the Zoning Commissioner of Baltimore County ("OZC"), and the County Council of Baltimore County ("County Council") alleging violations of Titles II and IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12132-33, 12203, and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The defendants have filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (Docket no. 6.) The motion has been fully briefed and no oral argument is necessary. See Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that follow, the court will grant the motion with respect to count three of the complaint (the Due Process claim), but deny it with respect to counts one and two (the ADA claims).
Because this is a motion to dismiss, the court must accept the plaintiff's factual allegations, as well as all reasonable inferences therefrom, as true, and must view the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.1 See Mylan Labs., Inc. v Matkari, 7 F.3d 1130, 1134 (4th Cir.1993); Republican Party of N.C. v. Martin, 980 F.2d 943, 952 (4th Cir.1992); Westray v. Porthole, Inc., 586 F.Supp. 834, 836 (D.Md. 1984).
According to the complaint, START is a Maryland corporation that was formed in the summer of 2001. (Compl. ¶¶ 1, 31.) Baltimore County is a municipality incorporated under Maryland law. (Id. ¶ 2.) The County Council has authority to pass zoning ordinances and other regulations that govern residents of Baltimore County (id. ¶ 5), while the Permits Department bears responsibility for administering zoning regulations, issuing permits, and regulating development within the county (id. ¶ 3). The OZC is a component of the Permits Department that, among other things, issues zoning permits and conducts hearings on disputed zoning matters. (Id. ¶ 4.)
START "was formed for the purpose of providing methadone maintenance services to individuals with opiate addiction, in conjunction with counseling and therapy, through the organization and operations of methadone clinics in the County of Baltimore, Maryland." (Id. ¶ 1.) Methadone maintenance therapy is a proven method of treating heroin dependence; for some individuals, it is the only effective treatment. (Id. ¶ 17.) Despite an "escalating heroin problem" (id. ¶¶ 16), only one methadone treatment program was located in Baltimore County as of the times relevant to the complaint (id. ¶ 18), and county officials, including the County Executive and the Director of the Baltimore County Bureau of Substance Abuse, expressed opposition to additional programs in their jurisdiction (id. ¶¶ 20-21). As of Fiscal Year 1996, less than 25% of the 980 Baltimore County residents receiving methadone treatment obtained it at facilities located in the county. (Id. ¶ 29.)
In August 2001, START signed a long-term lease for office space at the address 110 Reisterstown Road in Baltimore County. (Id. ¶ 32.) The zoning designation of this location, under the Baltimore County Zoning Regulations ("BCZR"), is "BR-AS" (business roadside, automotive service), which permits a wide range of business uses. (Id. ¶¶ 33-34.) "Offices," including "medical offices," may operate "as of right" in BR zones. (Id. ¶ 35.) The BCZR defines a "medical office" as a "place for the treatment of outpatients by one or more medical practitioners," meaning a "physician, dentist, optometrist, chiropractor, podiatrist, psychologist, physical therapist, nurse, or other similar health professional licensed by the state." (Id. ¶¶ 36-37 (internal quotation marks omitted).) "Medical clinics," which the BCZR defines as "ambulatory care centers, diagnostic centers, birthing centers, and dialysis satellite units," may also operate as of right in a BR zone. (Id. ¶ 38.) START planned to staff its facility with "licensed nurses to dispense methadone, a licensed physician to serve as the medical director and to conduct examinations, a doctor of psychology to serve as clinical director, and counselors." (Id. ¶ 39.)
Operating a methadone facility in Maryland requires certification by the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ("DHMH"), which is in turn contingent upon approval by federal regulators and documentation that the proposed facility involves a permitted use under the local zoning code. (Id. ¶ 23-24.) Since 1993, Baltimore County and the DHMH have followed a "consultation/approval procedure" — applied to no other type of facility — according to which the DHMH will not certify any methadone clinic without consulting with local government officials and receiving their approval. (Id. ¶ 25-26.) Accordingly, START began the certification process by contacting the Baltimore County Permits Department. (Id. ¶¶ 42-43.) Carl Richards, a staff member at the Department, informed START that methadone clinics were not permitted in Baltimore County and urged START not to seek a permit for the Reisterstown Road facility. (Id. ¶ 43.) When START went ahead and applied, the Permits Department stalled its application, imposing the "unusual requirement of a full scale drawing with seal" and misplacing START's parking plan, a required element of the application, on three separate occasions. (Id. ¶¶ 44, 49.) The Permits Department eventually "rescinded" the application based on the loss of the parking plan. (Id. ¶ 50.)
In the meantime, a "firestorm of opposition" erupted in the local community. (Id. ¶ 45.) As one civic association put it, "The residents of Pikesville [the community surrounding the Reisterstown Road location] are outraged and demand that our elected officials protect our children, families, homes, businesses, and property values by preventing these dangerous and unwelcome drug treatment centers from establishing themselves in our community." (Id.) Certain "community activists" published the business and home address of START's landlord and urged a boycott of businesses associated with START. (Id. ¶ 47.) Kevin Kamenetz, a member of the County Council, wrote to two state senators urging them to take action against the proposed facility. (Id. ¶ 46.) He also criticized the landlord for renting to a "less desirable tenant" and forgoing "development opportunities" that Mr. Kamenetz had previously referred to the landlord. (Id.) Mr. Kamenetz appears to have been in contact with the Permits Department during this period, as he learned of the rescission of START's application before START did. (Id. ¶ 51.)
On April 1, 2002, Mr. Kamenetz introduced Bill No. 39-02 in the County Council to require that "state-licensed medical clinics," including methadone clinics and drug and alcohol treatment centers, (1) undergo a hearing and obtain a "special exception" before locating in an area zoned for business use; (2) locate at least 750 feet away from any residentially zoned property line; and (3) provide off-street parking. The County Council passed the bill on April 15, 2002 and it became effective on April 16, 2002. (Id. ¶ 55.) Though the bill defined "state-licensed medical clinics" to include facilities other than methadone clinics, START alleges that "it was readily apparent ... that methadone clinics were the target and that no other types of clinics would be affected by the bill." (Id.) Based on Mr. Kamenetz's admission that "[w]e cannot treat a methadone clinic differently from any other medical clinic for the zoning process" (id. ¶ 52), START contends that the inclusion of non-methadone facilities in the new ordinance was a pretext to avoid liability under the ADA (id. ¶¶ 52, 55).
The Reisterstown Road location did not meet the requirements of Bill No. 39-02, so START's failure to obtain a permit before the new law became effective on April 16, 2002 prevented it from opening the planned clinic. (Id. ¶¶ 55, 63, 64.) Attempts to identify a comparable location failed, and START "lost the services of key employees." (Id. ¶ 60.) START alleges monetary losses including: lost profits; rents, utilities, and insurance fees based on the Reisterstown Road lease; expenditures on improvements to the Reisterstown Road site; costs associated with hiring and retaining staff for the proposed facility; and expenses associated with this litigation. (Id. ¶ 67.) Based on the three counts of its complaint, START seeks compensatory damages in the amount of $5,000,000; punitive damages in the amount of $2,000,000; a declaration that the defendants' actions violated the ADA; and permanent injunctions banning both further discrimination against START and the administration of regulations or policies that have the effect of excluding methadone treatment facilities from the county or imposing special burdens on such facilities. (Id. at ¶ 21.)
START is not the first methadone program to encounter difficulty obtaining permits to operate in Baltimore County. In previous litigation, this court granted summary judgment in favor of a methadone treatment facility alleging violations of the ADA by Baltimore County. Smith Berch, Inc. v. Baltimore County, 115 F.Supp.2d 520 (D.Md.2000) ("Smith Berch II"); see also Smith-Berch, Inc. v. Baltimore County, 68 F.Supp.2d 602 (D.Md.1999) ("Smith-Berch I") (...
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