San Mateo County residents held a heated community meeting Tuesday night to discuss a proposed 69-bed substance abuse treatment center operated by Horizon Services. The proposed facility would be located at 101 North El Camino Real, near El Cerrito Avenue in San Mateo. Opponents, while supporting the need for treatment services, objected to the location, chanting “Treatment, yes. Location, no,” throughout the evening.
Community Concerns and Opposition
Neighbors expressed concern that the site is too residential and too close to an elementary school. The County Board of Supervisors approved a $2 million funding commitment for the project in October, with Horizon later receiving grant funding from Proposition 1, which provides funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities in California. Supervisor Noelia Corzo, who represents District 2 where the center would be located, faced criticism from opponents claiming she had advanced the project “quietly” and without transparency. Community representatives noted that residents were not given the opportunity to comment when the item was approved as a consent item without discussion rather than on the regular agenda.
Debate Over Process and Responsibility
Supervisor Jackie Speier, representing the neighboring district, acknowledged that the proposal process had been flawed. “I actually believe the site is a poor site,” Speier said. “Shame on us for not recognizing that it wasn’t a consent item. It should’ve been on the regular agenda.” Horizon Services CEO Jaime Campos attributed the compressed timeline to grant funding deadlines, noting that community engagement was “on the back end” of the process. However, Speier contended that “community engagement happens before you make your application and before you receive the grant.”
The meeting structure as an open house, rather than the town hall format residents requested, drew additional criticism. By evening’s end, some common ground emerged among residents, with discussions continuing about finding an alternative site that would better serve the community.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://abc7news.com/post/san-mateo-meeting-gets-heated-residents-clash-proposed-substance-abuse-treatment-site/18767734/