The city of Chula Vista will not move forward with plans of a 120-bed Eastlake Behavioral Health Hospital that would have opened in 2023 in the Eastlake community after a council vote on Wednesday.
In May 2019, Eastlake Behavioral Health, LLC applied for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and Design Review (DR) to construct a one-story 97,050 square-foot building spanning across a vacant 10.5-acre site at 831 Showroom Place, known as the Eastlake Business Center II.
On Nov.10, 2021, the Chula Vista Planning commission approved an in-patient behavioral health hospital operated as a joint venture between Acadia Healthcare and Scripps Health. According to a City Staff report, the hospital would consist of in- and out-patient behavioral services for geriatric, adult, and adolescent patients, supervised by licensed, trained staff daily, and 24-hour acute care nursing.
On Nov.17, 2021, Brad Davis filed an appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision to the City Council, citing a “Factual Error”, “New Information” and “Findings Not Supported”, according to a city staff report. The appeal was granted in a 3-2 vote during a Tuesday City Council meeting.
“We have concerns about their inadequate elopement and security protocols. We have concerns of insufficient physical security and barriers,” said Davis.
Planning Manager for the City of Chula Vista, D. Todd Philips said that the claims Davis made during the planning commission hearing were regarding violations of the Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. According to the staff report, the Director of Developmental Services reviewed the proposed project for compliance with CEQA, and determined that there is no substantial evidence and would not have a significant effect on the environment. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared by the applicant.
Supporters of the project say there will be high-security measures, create more jobs and satiate the behavioral health needs of South County. The appeal, which was supported by the community group Chula Vista Safe or “CVSafe”, vocalized concerns of the proposed location residing near neighborhoods, schools, and the lack of infrastructure to support the hospital. Opponents also cited incidents at Acadia facilities nationwide.
“The issue is not having a mental health hospital in Chula Vista. The issue is where this one is going to be put,” said John Budding, a Chula Vista resident in opposition.
The California Hospital Association reports that one in four adults have behavioral health needs. Scripps Health Regional Chief Executive for in southern region Tom Gammire said that on a local level, that would mean nearly 90,000 people who live in the south county need behavioral health support.
Mental Health does not only impact adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 11 young people attempted suicide in the past year. Gammire said that if this statistic applied to students, that would mean over 3,800 students in the Sweetwater Union High School District attempted suicide in the past year.
According to Scripps, there are 823 available beds in all of San Diego County, but to meet the behavioral health needs, that number would need to double.
Supporters of the hospital included residents of the area, and the President of IRE Development, Mike Vogt, who sold the property.
“This is not a long-term treatment facility, this is not an insane asylum or a psychiatric ward. This facility offers five-to-seven treatment programs,” Vogt said. “The quality of life in a community includes mental health care treatment, and this is why I chose to sell this property probably at a discount to Acadia and Scripps."
Residents in opposition of the project maintained their concerns regarding the project’s location, safety, and failure to consider other project sites, like the Scripps Hospital complex on Fourth Avenue. According to Acadia, it had done everything to assure the right location.
“An EIR was not necessary because the project is consistent with the existing final EIR for the Eastlake specific plan, nevertheless we chose to prepare a full environmental impact report in anticipation of opposition,” said Robin Madaffer, Acadia legal counsel.
According to the staff report, the project site is a flat, vacant lot that was previously graded and is adjacent to an Amazon driver training lot. Onsight security measures would include an eight-foot concrete masonry unit on the property’s perimeter, landscape barriers, a single public entry, and an exit from a driveway at the end of the cul-de-sac. Closed-circuit camera monitoring of common areas would occur at all hours, patient checks at a minimum of every 15 minutes, controlled access between units, and 24-hour security personnel.
