69-bed Detoxification Center Being Considered For El Camino Real and El Cerrito

I want to ensure everyone is aware of a potential 69-bed sobering and detoxification center being proposed at 101 N. El Camino Real at the corner of El Cerrito.  Save Tuesday, March 24, 6pm-7:30pm, for an in-person community meeting on the project at the San Mateo Public Library hosted by President of the Board of Supervisors Noelia Corzo and Horizon Services Inc., the nonprofit managing the project.  

The County, as a project sponsor, has committed to host additional meetings to answer all the community’s questions about this proposed project.  At my request, our City Council sent a letter to the County requesting such a meeting to ensure public awareness.  I will stay involved throughout this process to ensure residents’ questions are thoroughly addressed. 

Horizon Services Inc is a nonprofit that runs the Palm Ave. sobering center and other centers in the Bay Area.  The County is a project sponsor, having committed $2 million to the project as seed match money for its application to the State for a $20 million grant.  The grant will be decided in June.  If awarded, Horizon will then apply for a permit to the City of San Mateo.  The City will have no ability to regulate or approve the project except to ensure it meets our Objective Design Standards.

We all know someone in our lives who has needed these services.  I, myself, in the past have looked at the dark side and stepped back.  We want compassionate, effective services available to all who need them.  We also need to have transparent and detailed information about this proposed project to ensure it meets the needs of its clients as well as the needs of its potential future neighbors.

There was a one-hour webinar on February 19^th where Horizon and President of the Board of Supervisors Noelia Corzo (also our San Mateo Supervisor) laid out the project’s high-level plans and addressed some of the 80+ attendees’ questions and concerns.  The main concerns were about public safety; the project’s proximity to several schools, eldercare centers and residential neighborhoods; the project scale; and the impact on traffic and parking at an already dangerous intersection.  The major questions were around how the potential project’s future neighbors’ needs had been considered and how this site (rather than others) had been selected.  

The goal of the March 24th meeting is to give more detailed information about the project and detailed information about its procedures, safety plans and what other sites were considered.  The County has committed to subsequent meetings to answer all resident questions and concerns.