WESTLAND, Mich. – There was a packed house at Westland City Hall on Tuesday night as neighbors vented their thoughts about an approved opioid treatment center.
The center will go where the dilapidated former Montana's restaurant currently sits in a commercial area near Ford Road and Wildwood Street.
To the rear of the property is a cemetery, across the street is a strip mall and directly adjacent is a health club.
Residents argued it's too close to a school and a park, which are about a quarter mile away.
The city's planning director, Mohamed Ayoub, had to repeatedly ask the crowd to keep it civil during the meeting.
The planning commission and City Council have already approved the project.
"It's wrong, wrong, wrong for the children of the city," Dino Tomei said.
Tomei owns the health club near where the treatment center will be. He said he has explored putting a charter school on his property, but that will no longer happen with the opioid center.
Among all the people who were angry, there were a handful of supporters.
"I think it's a good idea because there are people out there that need the help," Holly Dressell said.
People complained they had no idea it was happening, but the city posted agendas of the planning commission and City Council meetings on the city's website, as well as in local newspapers. The meetings were also shown on cable during the multimonth process.