Hillsborough hearing considers 5‑acre site for Sober Life addiction treatment center; staff support and conditions noted

Applicant representatives for Sober Life Treatment presented a plan to rezone roughly 5.06 acres near the I‑4/Highway 92 interchange from AS‑C1 to Planned Development to allow a professional residential facility for addiction treatment with a proposed maximum of 100 residents.

Applicant representatives, including Sober Life CEO James Chauncey and operations manager Anthony Raines, described client services and operations; Raines — a person in recovery who now works for the provider — spoke about treatment outcomes and his experience with the organization.

Development Services staff said the site is in a mixed industrial and commercial area and noted the planned buffers and forestation to exceed code in many locations; the applicant proposes a 20‑foot wide landscape buffer with Type B screening on the north and a 20‑foot Type C buffer on the south where code would require 30 feet. Planning Commission staff found the request consistent with applicable comprehensive plan objectives and community plan goals, and several county review sections, including Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, raised no objections.

Transportation and other technical elements will be reviewed and enforced at the site development stage. The applicant said the proposal includes building height and screening that exceed baseline requirements where practical. The hearing master closed the item for the record; staff recommended approval subject to the conditions discussed.