SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — Plans for a new behavioral health center project in Stanwood will go forward after the Snohomish County Council upheld a conditional land use permit earlier this month.
The Hearing Examiner initially approved the conditional land use permit for the project on March 7, but the decision was appealed by a group of neighbors.
The County Council held a closed record appeal hearing on May 10, and the motion was upheld in a May 17 meeting.
The Tulalip Tribes, which would own and operate the proposed facility, plans to build on unincorporated land north of Stanwood that it owns on 300th Street. The plans call for a structure that could house up to 32 mentally ill people for up to six months at a time. They would be people who have been involuntarily committed, meaning they would be held against their will.
In March 2022, several neighbors voiced their concerns to KING 5 over the project.
"It's not just some skating center for children to play at or anything like that. It's not harmless. It's not harmless to the community," Armando Nienhuser said.
"The first thing you learn is location, location, location," Stanwood Mayor Sid Roberts, who worked in real estate for four decades, said. "This is, in my opinion, the wrong location, the wrong location, the wrong location."
A spokesperson for the State Healthcare Authority said at the time that the facility will be secure and will not house people involved with the criminal court system. She said the residents are more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators.
In a written statement the spokesperson said, "Individuals who are getting treatment under the Involuntary Treatment Act will not be able to leave the facility on their own. The facility will be secure and locked, with all appropriate policies and procedures to ensure safety of the residents, staff, and community. Individuals receiving treatment here may be considered a danger to themselves or unable to take care of their own needs."
In a letter to KING 5, the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) Seattle explained the process for mental health treatment in Washington:
"For those who pose a danger to themselves or others and have a criminal charge treatment is addressed by a forensic navigator at Western or Eastern State hospitals. These cases are for people experiencing acute psychosis, prolonged mania, and other severe symptoms that require extensive treatment to participate in their own defense at trial or to be moved to a less restrictive care setting. Civil commitments for serious mental illness can start at a locked facility, and as recovery progresses they move gradually to less restrictive care and treatment."
There is a statewide need for more behavioral health beds to be made available in Washington state. Voters in King County approved a property tax hike earlier this year in order to fund a network of five new crisis care centers.
