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Wise rehab center project up for vote Wednesday

DUNNSTOWN — The Woodward Township Zoning Hearing Board members will sit together once again Wednesday, for the third segment of a hearing on a proposed drug and alcohol rehab center for teens.

The session is open to the public and is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Dunnstown Fire Hall, which can accommodate a larger number of people than the township building.

The center is proposed by Dr. Robert C. Wise II. He wishes to build it on a 72-acre property owned by his father, on a hilltop off Coudersport Pike (Route 664), less than two miles from Veterans Bridge at Jay Street.

Wise is asking for a special zoning exception so that he may build the center.

The two previous sessions of this particular zoning hearing were well attended by supporters of the project as well as those who do not wish to see the center built in that neighborhood.

Township residents have said they are worried about their property values falling and are concerned about having teen addicts all in one place in the general area where they live.

Wise said the center would treat up to 25 youth age 13 to 17. It would not treat adults. It would offer a 90-day program with a variety of facets to rehabilitate the teens, he said. He does not plan to contract with a court system to get clients, he told the township residents, but hopes to work with individual families.

The building would be about 20,000 square feet with 40 parking spaces, and a new road off Coudersport Pike will be needed to reach it, the zoning hearing board was told.

Attorney Larry Coploff, representing Wise, addressed the zoning hearing board Feb. 9, contending that the proposed center meets all the requirements for a special exception. He also contended that those who oppose the project did not present any proof that property values would decline or that the center does not meet any other requirement.

The zoning hearing board is expected to vote on the project Wednesday.

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