Mental health project hits snag with Collier County Planning Board - Naples Daily News

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A $25-million expansion of mental health services faces a setback after neighbors objecting to the project site on Golden Gate Parkway convinced the Collier County Planning Board it may not be the right location.

The planning board voted unanimously Thursday to recommend to the Collier County Commission that it not rezone the five-acre site for construction of a 102-bed complex.

The land is owned by David Lawrence Mental Health Center and is a stone’s throw from its current campus.

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The 64,000-square-foot, multi-story building would serve as a central intake facility for patients and address a huge demand for treatment beds.

Edwin Fryer, chairman of the planning board, said the neighbors “did a spectacular job” presenting their case after three hours of back and forth with project planners and listening to the neighbors’ concerns.

Their arguments include:

patients’ trespassing on their property
privacy
noise
devaluation of their homes
incompatibility with the surrounding area of residential estate properties of two acres or more

Planning commissioner Randy Sparrazza said if a 10-foot wall is necessary to separate what takes place inside the complex from the residential neighbors, he could not recommend the rezoning.

Adding a 10-foot wall is one of several concessions David Lawrence has offered to appease the neighbors. The planning board at an October public hearing directed the two groups to sit down and work out the issues.

Board member Joseph Schmitt said he was punting on the rezoning decision to the Collier County Commission which unanimously selected the site in February 2021.

The five acres is east of the current David Lawrence campus. Parkway Life Church of God sits between the current campus and the vacant site.

What’s next?

The county commission ultimately makes the final decision on the rezoning request from residential to community facilities.

The site is within an “institutional subdistrict” that was established in 2007 at the request of David Lawrence. Other uses allowed in the subdistrict include churches and nursing homes.

Penelope Hayes, who lives north of the site, said the planning board’s vote was “extremely encouraging.”

“We have a lot of work to do with the board of county commissioners,” she said.

Two new commissioners were elected to the board after the recent election, Chris Hall and Dan Kowal, and a super majority vote is needed for the rezoning to pass.

Scott Burgess, president and chief executive officer of David Lawrence said in a statement: “We are deeply disappointed by the vote of the Planning Council (Thursday) and we look forward to the opportunity to discuss this vital community matter with the Board of County Commissioners.”

The project’s history

Expanding access to mental health services has been on the county’s drawing board since 2017 with widespread support from the county commission at the time, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk, and various social service agencies.

Demand for mental health services has skyrocketed as the region’s population has grown.

People with mental health illnesses have been cycling through the jails and emergency rooms with too few treatment beds available.

From 2008 to 2021, the number of Baker Act commitments for evaluations has gone up 247% from 502 individuals to 1,743, according to the sheriff’s office.

In the same 14-year period, the sheriff’s office has picked up a total of 16,890 individuals for mental health evaluation under the law.

David Lawrence currently has 45 crisis stabilization beds, but a total of 81 beds on its campus which include for substance abuse recovery and other uses.

In 2018, Collier County voters approved a 1 percentage point increase in the local sales tax for a variety of projects with $25 million slated for expanding mental health services.

The complex is planned as a joint project between the county and David Lawrence. The plan is for David Lawrence to donate the five acres to the county in exchange for a 30-year contract to provide the services at the complex. The building would be owned by the county.

What the neighbors say

Several dozen neighbors near the project wore red T-shirts that said, “No to rezone” and “Dangerous in our neighborhood” to the planning board meeting.

Elizabeth Bloch spoke of an incident that goes against what sheriff’s officials said at an earlier hearing that the agency does not have reports of patients’ trespassing on private property.

Bloch said a man came to her front door in 2015 after just being released from David Lawrence and she filed an incident report, and she later filed a trespassing report when he returned. The deputy never filed the trespassing warning with the agency, she said.

“There is no data to actually show you what is happening in the area,” Bloch said.

Hayes, representing 35 neighbors, said the five-acre site was ranked fourth by consultants out of five sites in 2020 but it was the site favored by David Lawrence.

Looking back to when the institutional subdistrict was established in 2007 at the request of the mental health center, Hayes said county staff recommended against but it got approved after lobbying by center representatives.

Additionally, Hayes said nearby property owners were never notified of the plan. That’s because the county regulation at the time only required notices to property owners within 500 feet of the subdistrict, yet nearby properties are 660 feet deep, she said.

Lastly, Hayes showed a video of television and print news reports of trespassing and arrests of mental health patients from other central intake centers around the state to show how residential areas nearby are in danger.

What is David Lawrence offering?

Representatives of social service agencies spoke up in support of the project and of the need to expand access to mental health care.

Steve Brooder, chief executive officer of St. Matthew’s House homeless shelter in East Naples and Immokalee, said his agency works with David Lawrence to serve some of the most vulnerable people.

“St Matthew’s House supports this project and looks forward to David Lawrence being able to serve the community,” Brooder said.

Linda McKinnon, president and chief executive officer of Central Florida Behavioral Health Network in Hillsborough County, said what David Lawrence plans to do to mitigate risk to nearby residences goes beyond what is required by the state.

Melanie Brown- Woofter, president of the Florida Behavioral Health Association said there are 15 similar intake facilities in the state that have been embraced in their communities because the centers address a need.

In addition to the 10-foot wall on the northern and eastern sides of the complex that will be added, David Lawrence has agreed to hold monthly meetings with the neighbors, said Jessica Harrelson, with Peninsula Engineering for the center.

Windows on the second floor of the building on the northern and eastern side will be eliminated to prevent patients from looking down into the neighbors’ properties, she said.

The sheriff’s office has agreed to do extra patrols and the county would add a bus stop nearby to make it easier for discharged patients who need bus transportation, she said.

What the central intake center would have that the current campus does not have is a sally port entrance, she said. That’s where a deputy car pulls in and the door behind the patrol door closes before the front door opens.

Burgess, the CEO of David Lawrence, said very few patients don’t have someone picking them up after being discharged but the center has beefed up discharge plans by offering and promoting Uber rides.

Out of 2,300 admissions each year, only a dozen patients typically don’t have transportation, he said. There are seven to eight admissions and discharges a day.

“We have a desperate need to grow our capacity because of growth in the community,” Burgess said.

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