Orono delays decision on disorder clinic

Following an emotional meeting, the Orono City Council Monday night delayed voting on a permanent permit that would allow an eating disorder clinic to set up operations in a former private school near Lake Minnetonka.

Instead, the council asked its staff to look into granting the program an Interim Use Permit (IUP) and bring back a report in two weeks.

Council members said they were concerned about what could happen at the site and nearby locations in future years if a medical facility is allowed to open in the neighborhood.

The interim permit would allow the Emily Program clinic to operate, but would return the former school property to its previous zoning if the program leaves the school site.

"I think we're going to ask our attorney ... to focus on the IUP," said Mayor Jim White.

"I would welcome some more time," said Council Member Jim Murphy. "This is a terrible struggle between my heart and my head, but I do believe it is about the use of the land."

Numerous residents, including about 100 who attended Monday's council meeting, have debated the proposed facility in meetings and occasionally testy exchanges during the past few months.

Opponents have argued that if the clinic is approved, the traffic and emergency vehicles that could come through the area would pose a nuisance or a danger, especially to children playing in the area.

Dirk Miller, executive director of the Emily Program, spoke briefly Monday. He had earlier suggested a temporary permit as a compromise after opposition from neighborhood residents, including Target Corp. CEO Gregg Steinhafel, began to erode council support for the facility.

Like other residents, Steinhafel had spoken at a previous meeting and written to city officials, saying that while they support the Emily Program's work, they feel it is a bad fit in the neighborhood.

"This is an intensification of use," said resident Shari Danielson, who spoke out against the project Monday. "In my mind this is not about the program, it is about the permit."

Miller said some opponents have misconceptions about the program's clients.

"They are not a danger to others," he said. "Sometimes we are afraid of what we don't know."

Heron Marquez Estrada • 612-673-4280