The Case of Brookeville
A for-profit, out-of-state corporation based in Florida is opening a large inpatient, high-intensity drug rehabilitation facility (ASAM Level 3.5 treatment) for 16 patients in a Montgomery County residential neighborhood in Brookeville, at the end of a small cul-de-sac.
Montgomery County zoning regulations allow residential care facilities with up to 8 patients to operate in residential neighborhoods. Larger facilities need to undergo a special permitting process that requires community input. Montgomery County’s lax interpretation of zoning regulations allows companies to bypass this requirement by using two adjacent single family homes to operate as a single large business for 16 patients under the guise of two separate small facilities.
The Case of Derwood
In Derwood, a provider of residential addiction treatment started with just one property and expanded into five homes after buying multiple houses in the same residential cul-de-sac (WUSA9, 2024). This is now a 48-bed facility.