GRAINGER COUNTY, Tenn. — The Grainger County Commission was set to meet on July 3 to vote on a resolution that would regulate applications to buy property to build rehabilitation facilities or similar kinds of facilities.
According to the Grainger County Mayor, county leaders voted to prohibit pain clinics, some rehabilitation facilities, mental health facilities, halfway houses, homelessness shelters and similar areas from being built in the county's unincorporated areas.
Recently, rumors spread that the Knox Area Rescue Ministries were looking to open a facility meant to help men in the area. Neither KARM nor the Grainger County Mayor, Mike Byrd, confirmed that KARM had bought any property.
A proposal to start a recovery program in Jefferson County failed recently. It would have housed men for between a year and 18 months. They initially picked a New Market location as a way to help men escape the city. It would have operated similarly to the "Serenity" program.
That program helps women in Knoxville looking for a safe place to recover from addiction, domestic violence and homelessness through a biblically-based residential program.
Monday's special Grainger County Commission meeting was to review a resolution adding regulations on "applications for a pain clinic, drug or alcohol rehabilitation treatment center, mental health institutions, halfway house or similar businesses or facilities."
The resolution would have required the Grainger County Planning Commission to approve applications for facilities. Applications would also need to contain several kinds of information, listed below.
- The plan/plat shall be clearly and legibly drawn.
- Name, address, phone number and email address of the owner of record, and of the surveyor.
- Proposed name of the facility.
- North point, graphic scale, and date.
- Map/plat showing location and acreage of the proposed facility including exact boundary lines by bearing and distance, and names of owners or record of adjoining properties.
- Existing streets, utilities, easements and water courses on land adjacent to the tract.
- Proposed design including streets, street names, lot lines with dimensions, and easements and location and dimensions of buffer strips.
- Facility must have public water provided by local utility company and fire hydrants within 500' of facility.
- Facility must be connected to sewer system or obtain adequate State of Tennessee permitting.
- Facilities larger than a certain size, with an occupancy of more than 12 individuals entrance to facility must be connected to State Highway and a minimum of 20' in width for safety of all citizens in Grainger County.
- Facility must have access to law enforcement and emergency medical support 24/7 with response time no more than 15 minutes.
- Facility must be within three miles of fire department.
- Other information that may be required by the planning commission.
- Applications and plats shall be filed with four copies.
- Facility must be within Grainger County Commercial Growth boundary.
- Certifications required are: Ownership, Surveyor, State of Tennessee Sewage disposal, Water Utility, E911, County Road Superintendent and Planning Commission. With approval of these certifications, Grainger County may issue an official permit for the facility. Permit charges will apply.
KARM said they had done a site visit at some land in Rutledge before Monday's meeting.