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Council denies proposed 71‑bed psychiatric addition after public hearing and safety concerns
Summary
Following a lengthy public hearing, the City Council denied a proposed 4‑story, 71‑bed psychiatric behavioral health addition to an existing hospital, citing public-safety, traffic, and neighborhood-fit concerns raised by residents, police and fire.
After more than an hour of public hearing, the West Covina City Council voted on April 15 to deny a proposal to add a four‑story, 42,000‑square‑foot psychiatric behavioral health building with 71 beds to the West Covina Medical Center campus.
The proposed project would have added inpatient psychiatric beds and relied largely on off‑site parking across Cameron Avenue. The Planning Commission had earlier approved the project; the council called the item up for further review after public concerns and a request for expanded notification. Council and staff solicited input from the police, fire and health departments before the hearing.
Police and fire staff raised several concerns during the council presentation about operational impacts. The police department noted possible resource implications if patients were discharged to the community and that some patients can be released voluntarily; the fire department said the proposed facility would sit in the busiest ambulance district, increasing potential calls and straining emergency response. Staff also presented collision-history data showing multiple accidents at nearby intersections — concerns the council said increased the need to evaluate pedestrian and vehicle circulation tied to off‑site parking.
During public comment dozens of residents and neighborhood property owners urged the council to reject the project because of perceived safety risks, parking shortfalls and proximity to schools and homes. Speakers described worries about people with serious behavioral-health needs walking into residential streets and the risk of additional emergency calls. The applicant described existing operations and said the proposed facility would be discreet and served mainly by referrals from skilled nursing facilities and county sources; the applicant said the facility would not discharge patients “to the street” and emphasized continuity-of-care ties with other providers.
After the public hearing Councilmember Brian Gutierrez moved to overturn the Planning Commission’s approval and deny the project; Mayor Pro Tem Lopez Viado seconded. The council voted to deny the project by a 5-0 roll call. Councilmembers said the project’s off-site parking, pedestrian crossing, and public-safety implications — combined with unresolved questions about the discharge process and where patients would go after treatment — weighed against approval. The council directed staff to place any future application on the record for full public notice and to provide additional documentation about operational protocols and community impacts before the council would consider a similar project.
No votes to approve the project were recorded; the motion to deny prevailed and the project will not proceed as proposed.
