San Mateo County supervisors to discuss purchasing Burlingame property for treatment facility

The proposed Horizon facility would also offer residential treatment services and detox beds. It’s currently proposed at 101 N. El Camino Real in San Mateo, but has garnered noteworthy opposition from residents who feel the facility and its clients would negatively affect the neighborhood.

While the Mahler Road site was repeatedly pointed to as a preferred alternative from residents in the San Mateo neighborhood who didn’t want a treatment facility nearby, it is of purchase interest to the county “for a variety of reasons,” County Executive Mike Callagy said. 

“I would say it would be a flexible space,” Callagy said, and owning the property could help get a sobering station program up and running again “in the near term, regardless if it’s Horizon or not.” 

While the possible purchase was not necessarily for the Horizon facility — though Callagy repeatedly said “it could be” — most supervisors have already expressed their opinions on whether it should be. 

The property purchase on Mahler Road in Burlingame was intended to be discussed in closed session next week, but understanding the link of the site to ongoing conversations regarding the Horizon treatment facility, board President Noelia Corzo moved the item to be discussed publicly for transparency’s sake.

“I think we need to make decisions through open conversation and facts and have all of that information and be transparent to the entire community because we have a responsibility to be fiscally responsible and deliver services for our entire county,” Corzo said. 

The opposition to the San Mateo location has grown in recent months and came to a boil at a meeting held March 24. Residents of the neighborhood have voiced concerns that crime would increase, congestion would worsen and even that clients would walk onto school property and prey on children.

It would comprise 16 sobering center beds — a jail alternative for nonviolent DUI offenders — 17 detox beds and 36 beds for residential treatment services, all of which would prohibit alcohol, illicit substances and outside loitering. Clients are also not allowed to bring vehicles on-site. 

The county has been without a sobering station since May, when one of the county’s top behavioral health providers StarVista shut down, which also led to the closure of other services as a result, including counseling services, its early childhood department, DUI program and a shelter for teens and young adults. Caminar, one of the other top mental health providers, has also closed several of its programs over the past two years, including the county’s only long-term residential crisis center.

Shortly before the tense community meeting, other county supervisors started expressing their concern for the proposed Horizon project on El Camino Real. Supervisor Jackie Speier previously said the Mahler Road property would be better.

Holding a similar belief, Supervisor David Canepa said “thank God” when asked his thoughts on possibly purchasing the Mahler Road site. He described it as “probably the most perfect location” as an alternative for the Horizon facility. 

After hearing from “hundreds of neighbors” against Horizon’s possible San Mateo location, Canepa said “what good government does, is listen to our constituents.” 

“I think it’s a win for those in the San Mateo, Hillsborough community, and a win for the county,” Canepa said. 

Despite opinions on where a treatment facility should be located, supervisors are only set to discuss possibly purchasing the Burlingame site, which Callagy estimated would cost around $13 million. 

There is no mention of exactly what the space would be used for, and no formal agreement with Horizon on a location change, Callagy said. 

The county is “always in the market” to purchase additional spaces, as Callagy continues to move it out of leases and into owning property. He said doing so “controls our own destiny into the future.” 

However, the county’s fiscal strain is top of mind for Corzo, who said the board must consider what another property purchase would cost. 

The state recently awarded $25 million in Proposition 1 money for the Horizon proposal. Callagy said the state could be flexible on a location change. The Board of Supervisors approved about $2 million in October to support the Horizon project as part of a routine agenda item. Corzo has sustained her support for the Horizon facility at the El Camino Real location in San Mateo.

Purchasing a property in Burlingame that could be used as the Horizon facility, or one at least very similar, should be considered diligently, Corzo said.

“The county considering purchasing a property elsewhere would have a much bigger budget implication for our county and we have some budget concerns in general right now,” Corzo said. “I think the public needs to be aware of that.” 

The matter is set to be discussed at the Board of Supervisors meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 7, shortly after supervisors are slated to hold a press conference advocating for a sustained revenue source from the state as gaps in funding continue.