Cottontown Votes Against Treatment Facility

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Plans for an alcohol and drug treatment facility in historic downtown Columbia are shot down, as residents claim, ‘Not in my back yard.’ However, the battle over whether a drug treatment facility can be housed near the neighborhood may not be over. The owner of the building at the corner of Sumter and Franklin Streets wanted to convert it into a 16-bed in-patient treatment facility for those recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. But after a more than three-hour debate in front of the City of Columbia’s zoning board Tuesday, residents shot down the proposal. Dennis Miller, who owns and has renovated the 38-hundred square feet of space, located at the edge of Cottontown, claims the facility is needed because it would essentially be the only one catering to patients’ recovery, post detox, and on an in-patient basis. However, his argument wasn’t enough to convince the board. They voted 4-3 that the facility with its current plan of operation in place, should not be allowed to operate located so close to a neighborhood, listed in the National Register of Historic places. If those procedures can be reworked, Miller can revisit the issue and go before the board again. For now, though, residents can continue to call Cottontown ‘home sweet home.’ The owner says he’s not sure what he will do with the building at this point. However, if he does incorporate modifications suggested by the residents, he could submit a new application in six months. Or, he could proceed to establish the building as an out-patient treatment center.