GLITC ponders next steps in CUP application process for Cassian wellness center

On April 3, the Oneida County planning and development committee denied a conditional use permit (CUP) application submitted in the fall of 2023 for the construction of a 36-bed, adolescent recovery and wellness center (ARWC) in the town of Cassian.

The proposed ARWC has been a hot topic for Cassian since the town was made aware of the Great Lakes Inter Tribal Council’s (GLITC), intent to build it in May of last year. 

In September, the town board issued a resolution outlining its reasons for opposition and it wasn’t because of the need for the facility, which would be for 13-17 year-olds dealing with substance abuse issues.

Rather, other reasons were cited, among them, concerns about safety and property values and the impact on the town’s infrastructure. 

The CUP application eventually reached the Oneida County board’s planning and development committee. After a public hearing in December, and another meeting in January at the courthouse in Rhinelander, a 5-0 decision to deny the application was reached last week. 

At Monday’s meeting of the Cassian town board, the first town board meeting since the CUP decision was made, town chair Patty Francoeur said she appreciated “all the work” town residents put “towards the information everybody gathered ... in helping us in our opposition.”

“It was a community effort,” she said. “It’s good to see the community come together and have support because we as a board can’t do everything without your support.”

As for next steps, Francoeur said GLITC could go to the Oneida County board of adjustment (BOA). 

“That would be where they (the BOA) would drive out there but I have not gotten anything official that’s where it’s going,” she said. “So, at this point, we’re kind of in limbo as far as how they’re (GLITC) going to proceed. From the board of adjustment, they could take it to circuit court where they would present it to the Oneida County judge to state why they think it (the CUP denial) should be overturned. Otherwise, they can come back in a year and re-apply for a new CUP.”

Town supervisor John Schaub, also chairman of the town planning commission, said GLITC has 30 days to file an appeal with the BOA although he wasn’t sure if that was 30 days from the planning and development committee’s decision or 30 days from receipt of the official letter of denial, which Oneida County planning and zoning director Karl Jennrich told The Lakeland Times Monday still needed to be sent. 

He described the BOA process, including a mention of a tour of the land for the proposed ARWC and urged residents with signs in their yards indicating opposition to the facility in Cassian to “leave ‘em up.”

“If they can see ‘em, that’s just another reason we oppose it,” Schaub said. 

GLITC reaction

GLITC chief executive officer Bryan Bainbridge issued a brief statement shortly after the planning and development committee’s decision. 

“Every day this project is delayed, we lose another day where we could save a kid's life,” he said in the statement. “The demand for this recovery center won't magically disappear, which is why our goal continues to be building this life-saving facility for children fighting addiction.”

On Monday, he told the Times GLITC does indeed intend to move forward and take the steps needed. 

“We’ll just follow the next steps that they (Oneida County zoning) have laid out in their process,” he said. “The opinion in the decision doesn’t mean the problem goes away. We’re all still in the mindset that we need to pursue what we were doing and move this thing forward.”

Moving it forward, he said, will more than likely involve the Oneida County board of adjustment. 

“We’ll navigate through that process,” Bainbridge said. 

When the planning and development committee made the decision to deny the CUP application, it was based on what its members determined was GLITC not providing adequate information as to two of 10 standards the committee considered; those were failure to provide substantial evidence that the center wouldn’t lower property values and failing to meet the town’s comprehensive plan. 

“You know, one thing I think is very misleading, though, is the statements of an incomplete application or anything like that,” Bainbridge said. “The amount of paperwork that we submitted that was asked for ... even the statement that was made when we submitted the original CUP was that it was one of the most thorough and well put together applications that zoning had received. It’s really frustrating but if we stay in that mindset of what it’s about, you know, we just move things forward.”

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].