Santa Barbara is shooting itself the foot if city government allows a five-story mental health clinic and housing for the severely mentally ill to be developed downtown. As much as mental heath clinics are needed, Santa Barbara is not the place. Visualize for a moment — tourist, a few locals, the homeless, and the severely mentally ill converging together on State Street.
The City Council is doing its best with plans to strengthen the local economy. Building a mental hospital within walking distance of the downtown area will bring a tsunami of disaster to Santa Barbara.