After relocating to Braeside Medicentre, Second Chance Recovery is closing because staff and doctors are afraid for their safety. (CBC)

Just one day after it reopened in a new Calgary location, a methadone clinic is shutting down due to opposition from Braeside residents and threats from the public.

Hugh Ham, a lawyer for Second Chance Recovery, said the clinic — leased from a current medical centre in a southwest strip mall — is closing because staff and doctors are afraid for their safety.

"They've been threatened with damage to the clinic. They've been threatened with damage to their vehicles and you know, threatened with sort of intimidation of the staff," Ham told CBC News on Wednesday afternoon.

"So we will be shutting the clinic down as soon as that can be physically arranged."

The methadone clinic treats about 500 people trying to kick addictions to heroin and prescription drugs.

"I don't think anybody's actually phoned and made death threats but it's more like the general intimidating.... We're going to shut you down and make sure you don't operate." said Ham.

Ald. Brian Pincott had trouble talking above shouts from the angry crowd. (CBC)

The decision to close comes on the heels of what Ham called a "hostile" town hall meeting on Tuesday night, where angry residents shouted down and booed their area alderman several times.

Hundreds of people crowded into the Braeside community centre for a meeting with Ald. Brian Pincott, while those who couldn't get in due to fire regulations lined up outside.

Upset neighbourhood residents asked Pincott how Second Chance Recovery could move in unannounced and questioned why no officials from the clinic were at the meeting.

"You wanted to know what our feelings are? Our feelings are no clinic here," said one woman to cheers and applause from the crowd.

'I am from the clinic and I will talk to you and tell you how it has helped my life. You people need to understand this. It's not a bad thing.'—Clinic patient

Pincott said the city didn't try to hide the clinic's move from neighbourhood residents.

"I found out about this the same time as you did," he said. "That was when the city found out about it …the clinic had no obligation to inform anybody."

Ham said doctors from the clinic wanted to attend the meeting, but because the landlord was considering challenging the centre's lease in court, it wasn't appropriate.

Client defends facility

As the debate grew outside among people who couldn't get into the meeting, a young woman who had tears in her eyes defended the clinic.

"I am from the clinic and I will talk to you and tell you how it has helped my life. You people need to understand this. It's not a bad thing," she said.

Braeside resident Cameron Bergland, who was stuck outside, said he is worried about his children.

"They can't just run over to Mac's and grab a Slurpee because you have a clinic that has possible criminal elements. And I understand these people need a place to go. I'm sorry, but I think this type of person comes from downtown, do they not? Isn't that where most of them are from? Why wouldn't you put the clinic down there where they are?"

Reassessing zoning rules

Second Chance Recovery was located downtown for six years, but its lease was not renewed, so it relocated to a light industrial park on 41st Avenue N.E. in late 2008.

The Highland Park Community Association pointed out the area wasn't zoned for a medical clinic, resulting in the city ordering it to move out.

A deal to lease a space in strip mall in the southeast community of Forest Lawn fell through in April after opposition from businesses and residents there.

Pincott said changes need to be made to city zoning rules.

"I'm going to be bringing forward a motion to look at pulling methadone clinics out of the general medical clinic classification and looking at them as a separate use," said the alderman on Wednesday.

Calgary's only other methadone treatment centre is run by the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. With 300 clients, that facility has a three-month waiting list.

Bill Leslie, who runs Second Chance Recovery, said he'll continue to operate a methadone clinic in Red Deer.