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Commission rejects citywide text amendment to allow pain‑management clinics in B‑3 districts
Summary
After extended debate and public comment, commissioners voted 2–3 to deny a text amendment that would have allowed pain‑management clinics as a special exception in B‑3 zoning; concerns focused on signage, precedent and loss of local control despite conditions requiring no on‑site dispensing and appointment‑only operation.
New Smyrna Beach — The City Commission voted down a proposed zoning text amendment that would have allowed pain‑management clinics as a special‑exception use in the B‑3 Highway Service Business district, after prolonged debate and public comment.
Staff described a package of conditions intended to limit risk: clinics would operate by appointment only, "no walk in appointments would be permitted, and clinic will not dispense narcotics on premise," senior planner Jake Baker told the commission. The draft language also required that clinics be operated and administered by a duly licensed medical doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine and limited services to interventional spinal injection therapies administered by licensed physicians.
Applicants and local practitioners asked the commission to adopt the text change so established pain specialists could continue serving local patients. "We've been here 11 years... we're trying to get this space," one applicant said, noting difficulty finding suitable premises near the hospital. Planning & Zoning voted 7–0 to recommend the amendment.
Opponents and several commissioners warned that changing the citywide zoning text would create a precedent that future applicants could use to expand signage and clinic location across many corridors. Residents said the B‑3 map includes gateway and CRA (Community Redevelopment Area) corridors and argued the city could not effectively limit exterior signage because of First Amendment constraints. After final debate the roll call was: McGurk (yes), Hartman (yes), Martin (no), Vice Mayor Preen (no), Mayor Cleveland (no); the ordinance failed 2–3.
What happens next: Because the text amendment failed, future applicants must seek special‑exception approvals case‑by‑case under the existing rules; staff noted the commission could consider tighter language in the future if it wanted to revisit the question.
Votes at a glance: Ordinance 44‑24 (text amendment to allow pain‑management clinics in B‑3) — motion to adopt failed 2–3.
