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Board signs waiver under ORS to allow methadone clinic move to Klamath Works campus
Summary
The Klamath County Board approved a draft order waiving a statutory siting restriction to allow an opioid-treatment (methadone) clinic to relocate to the Klamath Works campus, which lies within 1,000 feet of a school; public health administrator recommended the waiver based on peer practice.
The Klamath County Board of Commissioners voted to sign a draft waiver under Oregon statute to exempt a proposed opioid treatment program (methadone clinic) from a 1,000-foot school-buffer siting restriction so it may locate on the Klamath Works campus.
County counsel presented a draft waiver of the siting restriction in ORS 430.590 that, if adopted, permits a local public health authority or county to waive the distance limitation to reduce barriers to medically necessary treatment at medication-assisted treatment clinics. Counsel said a methadone clinic currently sited in downtown Klamath Falls is considering a move to the Klamath Works campus (referred to in the record as the Clem Forks campus). The Klamath Works site is within 1,000 feet of a school, which normally would trigger the statutory restriction.
The public health administrator, Jennifer Lee, told commissioners she had not personally spoken with the county health officer, Dr. Warren, but that she and county staff had consulted peers in other counties and state-level experts; several of those peers had signed similar waivers in their counties and recommended approval. Lee said her recommendation to sign the waiver was informed by those discussions and public-health considerations.
A commissioner asked whether the order would be processed through a business meeting as prior approval; counsel said that if the board signed it that day it would likely be forwarded as a prior approval to the business meeting. With no further discussion, the chair called the question and commissioners voted aye; the motion passed.
Authority cited in the meeting record was ORS 430.59 (identified in counsel’s presentation) and related statutory siting provisions referenced in the discussion. The board did not discuss permit-level site review or operational details of the clinic during this session.
Staff will process the signed waiver per the county’s procedures for prior approval and business-meeting items.
