A joint workshop with the Greeneville City Council and the Greeneville Municipal Planning Commission was held yesterday where they discussed adding a special exception to the M-1 and M-2 section of the zoning ordinance to allow for a Residential Re-entry Center (RRC), operated by Midway Rehabilitation Center under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), in the Mount Pleasant Industrial Park.
Administrative staff from the center including Executive Director Monica Tillery, Executive Assistant Director William Pappas, and Attorney Mycol Scott also joined the workshop. Tillery gave a brief presentation on the program, which first started in 1974 when a group of concerned citizens formed an agency dedicated to substance abusers who were motivated to recover. In 1981, the program was granted their first federal contract with BOP, according to Tillery.
Councilman Tim Ward was concerned with the fact that these potential clients in the program are federal prisoners that are basically finishing their sentences, with many of them not from Greene County, although Tillery says they are in the Tri-cities area. Councilwoman Ginny Kidwell wanted to know what type of clients were referred to the program. Tilllery said they could have anywhere from non-violent crimes to murder related charges, sex offenders could also be accepted into the program.
The workshop was not held so the board members can make a decision on whether or not they wanted the center here, but rather to discuss if a special exception was possible for that property in Mount Pleasant Industrial Park. Spot zoning would be the issue here as the desired zone for the property is B-4 and it’s currently zoned as M-2. Even if the center isn’t approved after a site plan is provided, the town should still consider this property on Mount Pleasant Industrial Park, as it’s possible it was zoned incorrectly in the past, and could potentially be used for other types of businesses like a child care center.
Council members expressed they were not comfortable with approving the special exception to the zoning regulations that would deal with any form of residential use in a M-1 and M-2 zone. Planning Director Randy Davenport said the facility could still move forward with a center in Greeneville but they would need to find another site. The site would have to be in a zone that allows an institution and residential units.
