One of Bangor’s two certified syringe service providers will likely be able to reopen its office after the Planning Board approved its request for a zoning change Tuesday night.
The board ruled 5-1 that the City Council “ought to pass” the change for Needlepoint Sanctuary’s 1009 Ohio St. location to a zoning district that allows for health and social welfare service uses. It will next go to a City Council vote, where the council would need a two-thirds majority to overturn the board’s decision.
The change would allow the harm reduction organization to restart providing syringe services after it briefly opened the brick and mortar location in July but was shut down after just five days because the building wasn’t properly zoned for Needlepoint Sanctuary’s services.
It comes as new cases continue to be identified in the Penobscot County HIV outbreak and the city scrambles to ensure there is enough warming center space for homeless residents this winter — both issues that Needlepoint Sanctuary says its physical location can help combat.
“What Bangor has at Ohio Street right now is a space that can be opened as soon as this decision is made and confirmed by the City Council that can immediately start addressing the HIV outbreak, the ongoing overdose crisis, that can immediately start providing recovery meetings, that can operate as a day center, a warming center for the unhoused community,” Executive Director William Hurley said at the Tuesday meeting.
Syringe service providers like Needlepoint Sanctuary provide clean needles as well as testing and connections to medical treatment, among other services, to reduce the risk of overdose and infectious disease. Syringe service programs are proven to reduce HIV and hepatitis C transmission rates by around 50%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
City officials previously expressed concerns about Needlepoint Sanctuary’s earlier plans to offer mobile syringe services in public spaces like Pickering Square and Peirce Park. Hurley said it was difficult to find a standalone building with a receptive landlord in a location that made sense. The group’s office is far from downtown, located between a gas station and a creek.
Twelve members of the public spoke in support of the change, including numerous Needlepoint Sanctuary volunteers and staff members who spoke about their work.
“There are many people where a syringe service program is the only public health service they may be accessing,” said volunteer Luke Sekera-Flanders.
Ellen Taraschi, a nurse practitioner with Maine Family Planning who works closely with Needlepoint Sanctuary on efforts to combat the HIV outbreak, spoke about the importance of syringe services for preventing new cases.
“It cannot be overstated how important it is to have a meeting place for these folks to gather, get the supplies they need to stay safe, and also to receive medical care,” she said.
One Planning Board member, Edwin Brush, voted no because he saw the request as “spot zoning,” when a small piece of land is rezoned to be different from the surrounding properties, and thought Needlepoint Sanctuary should find a different location that wouldn’t require a zoning change.
After a request from Hurley, associate Planning Board member Justin Cartier recused himself due to the appearance of bias over previous comments he’s made criticizing Needlepoint Sanctuary. Cartier is running for City Council.
Two people spoke on Zoom in opposition to the measure, including City Council candidate Richard Ward. Ward, who has a well-documented history of neo-Nazi rhetoric and is running on a platform of helping homeless residents, claimed in his remarks that syringe services are ineffective.
Another speaker, who identified himself as Justin Berry but did not state whether he lived in Bangor, argued that drug users shouldn’t have access to syringe services because drug use is dangerous.
He veered into foul language, including profanity, before he was cut off by Planning Board Chair Reese Perkins, who said comments needed to stay respectful. Perkins is also running for City Council.
City Councilors said last week they would reconsider its public comment policy, which allows comments via Zoom, following a spate of hateful attacks by commenters likely using fake names.
