Vineland council continues public hearings on zoning changes after extended public comment on harm-reduction services

The Vineland City Council on Tuesday continued public hearings on two proposed zoning ordinances that would change where substance use counseling and related mental-health services may operate in the city, after more than an hour of public comment from service providers, residents and county officials.

The proposed ordinances — Ordinance 2025-9, which would amend multiple business- and institutional-zone standards, and Ordinance 2025-10, which would clarify definitions including “office” and “substance abuse counseling or treatment center” — were opened for public hearing and then continued to a later date. Council members voted unanimously to continue both hearings to Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 5:30 p.m.

Why it matters: Speakers at the meeting said the changes could force small private mental-health and counseling practices and harm-reduction programs to relocate, creating access barriers for people who rely on walkable, bus-accessible locations. Supporters of the changes said the city is attempting to place these uses where medical infrastructure and public transportation are concentrated. The council paused further action to allow more public input and for staff to refine language.

Public comment: More than a dozen residents and providers addressed the council. Georgette Shelton said she spoke on behalf of the South Jersey AIDS Alliance and its board of directors and warned that a zoning change that displaces syringe-service and harm-reduction work “will make them inaccessible” to the people who rely on them. "This rule waiver...will increase access to opioid treatment services in New Jersey," she said, citing a state Department of Health action announced earlier (quotation summarized from testimony).

Teresa Anderson and other speakers told the council the ordinance’s language singles out substance-use counseling and treatment in ways that stigmatize people with mental-health and substance-use disorders; Anderson urged the council to vote no and to use person-first, non-stigmatizing language. "The proposed ordinance...excludes and isolates people with mental health and substance use, and thereby perpetuates stigma," she said.

Stephanie Mazzoni Engel, who identified herself as a school social worker in the Vineland Public School District and as owner and clinical supervisor of the Healing Den, said moving outpatient therapy providers into the medical (IN-1) zone or B-3 business zones could make small practices unsustainable. "If myself or some of my colleagues ... were to have to rent industrial spaces, we would be out of business," she said.

Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb McCray said she supports locating treatment where people can get to it easily by bus or on foot and cautioned the council not to push services away from areas with high need. "If that is the area where people are suffering, that is the area where we need to build both substance abuse recovery capital as well as mental health treatment capital," she said.

City staff and council responses: Council members and staff clarified that the draft changes are intended to concentrate certain services in zones near medical providers — the IN-1 (hospital/medical) zone and specified B-3 business zones — and that preexisting providers in B-1 or B-2 zones would be treated as preexisting, nonconforming uses and could remain in place. The council and staff also said certified notices were mailed to all zones that might be affected per statutory notification requirements; a resident asked why some certified notices referenced industrial zones, and city staff said notices list all zones that could be affected under the notification rules.

Next steps: The council voted unanimously to continue both public hearings to Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., giving more time for public comment and for staff to refine ordinance language. The council also voted unanimously to reconsider and reopen the public hearing on Ordinance 2025-10 during this meeting so any inadvertently missed remote commenters could be heard; that hearing was also continued to March 11.

Votes at a glance: Council recorded unanimous roll-call votes (5–0) on motions to open hearings and to continue them. The council members voting yes were Doctor Arthur, Councilman English, Councilman Gomez, Councilman Vargas and President Spinelli.

Ending: The council emphasized it is continuing work on the zoning language and asked staff to compile additional information on available medical-area office space, transportation access and the potential effects on small practices and nonprofit service providers. The public hearings will reconvene March 11, 2025, at 5:30 p.m.