Plans For Disputed Drug Rehab Center Withdrawn

GRAYSON, GA — The man behind the conroversial plans for a new drug and alcohol treatment center near Grayson has withdrawn those plans.

Chad Millsaps, director of Fresh Start Foundations of Loganville, sent a letter to Gwinnett County commissioners last week, withdrawing plans for a 60,000-square-foot facility at 1680 Chandler Rd., the AJC reports.

The commission had been scheduled to consider Millsaps' rezoning request in September.

At a public hearing in March, several residents, including a state lawmaker, spoke out against the center, which would have been in unincorporated Lawrenceville near Grayson.

According to the the petition, the facility would have offered counseling and therapy in a drug-free environment for people working to kick drug addictions. Millsaps told commissioners he went through addiction recovery four years ago.

Several residents from the Lawrenceville and Grayson area spoke against the plan, though, expressing security and property-value concerns.

At the hearing, state Rep. Joyce Chandler, R-Grayson, argued that all the other properties in the area are residential and that a drug rehab center would raise peace-of-mind and safety concerns.

State law on drug treatment facilities requires a public hearing be held at least six months before they can be approved.