Fayette County reclassifies drug treatment facilities as conditional use in O‑I zone

The Fayette County Board of Commissioners voted 3‑0 on Sept. 26 to amend Chapter 110 of the county zoning ordinance to delete drug treatment facilities as a listed "special use" and to add drug abuse treatment facilities as a conditional use in the Office‑Institutional (O‑I) district.

Planning and Zoning Director Deborah Bell told the board the edits would bring the county ordinance into alignment with changes in state zoning procedures law and would relocate the treatment‑facility provisions into a conditional‑use framework that retains prior local siting standards while removing state‑monitored licensing items from the local text.

No members of the public spoke in favor or opposition. Commissioner Charles W. Oddo moved to approve the three related ordinance amendments (deleting the special‑use reference in Sec. 110‑175.2a, adding the conditional use at Sec. 110‑169 (2)s‑1, and editing Sec. 110‑142 to reflect the change); Commissioner Eric K. Maxwell seconded. The motion passed 3‑0.

The board’s action replaces the prior classification of drug treatment facilities as a special use in targeted ordinance sections with a conditional‑use process in O‑I, permitting review under the county’s conditional‑use standards. Staff said the change preserves local requirements while reflecting the updated state procedure language.

Procedurally, two rezoning petitions on the agenda were withdrawn or tabled to Oct. 24 because fewer than a full board was present for public hearings; the zoning ordinance amendments were acted on separately and were approved at this meeting. The amendments take effect as provided by county ordinance.