An overflow crowd in Turlock debated whether 84 mentally ill people should be housed in a former senior care home.
Critics said the plan would endanger students at Dutcher Middle School, just across Hawkeye Avenue, and cause other problems.
They and project supporters spoke for two and a half hours Tuesday night to the Turlock City Council. Its members and other city officials also questioned the plan and complained that they had not been notified about it.
The council agreed in the end to further discuss the concerns with the project’s partners. The site is owned by the private A&A Health Services, based in the East Bay city of San Pablo. It has a contract to treat clients of Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services .
The site had been an assisted-living center, Las Palmas Estates, from 1982 to last year. It has a Colorado Avenue entrance and multiple one- and two-story buildings.
County officials said BHRS clients had been placed in part of Las Palmas for decades, including 29 when it closed last year. They said using the entire site would benefit local residents who now get treatment at distant locations.