SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield City Council this week considered annexing property on International Way, which was floated as a potential site for a behavioral health hospital.

At the regular session on Monday, the council was presented with a proposal to annex parcels located to the north of International Way, between 500 and 700 International Way, and to the east of the former Royal Caribbean call center, where a possible sports complex would occupy. The annexation of the current filbert orchard occupying the land would bring it within city limits.

Lane County and PeaceHealth are co-applicants to facilitate the development of Timber Springs Behavioral Health Hospital and Lane County’s crisis stabilization center on the property. Although annexation applications do not include proposed development, PeaceHealth representatives provided a presentation for the proposed use of the property, should it be annexed.

“This project is of critical importance to our community. However, the site is currently outside of city limits,” said Zach Galloway, senior planner with TGB Community Planning Group and representative of the co-applicants. “It’s one of the missing pieces along International Way, not within the city limits, and therefore we’re before you this evening requesting annexation.”

Alicia Beymer, PeaceHealth chief administrative officer, and Eve Gray, director of Lane County Health and Human Services, explained the future usage of the land. The property would host Timber Springs, PeaceHealth’s proposed 96-bed inpatient psychiatric hospital for adolescents and adults, and the Lane Stabilization Center, which is designed to treat people experiencing a mental health crisis and connect them to long-term solutions.

Beymer said PeaceHealth’s emergency department sees nearly 600 youth under the age of 18 with mental health needs. “They often face waiting days or weeks to be transferred to a facility that can provide the right level of care,” she said.

The proposed structures would expand care to youths and teens and offer locally available treatments that are currently only available in Salem or Portland, allowing patients’ families to stay closer to home while providing support. The only beds available for patients with mental health care needs are in the emergency department.

Youth would normally be transferred to a facility in Portland when beds become available. Beymer said the behavioral health campus would relieve pressure on Lane County emergency departments by providing a facility for mental health patients. She also noted that it would benefit law enforcement by directing folks with mental health disorders out of the correctional system. After a person is arrested, part of the jail intake routine includes a medical and mental health screening.

“Not only does this mean timely and immediate mental health treatment for these youth, but it also allows them to remain in the same area where they will receive outpatient treatment and ensure they are connected to local resources upon discharge,” she said.

A serious need

Debra Depew, a family advocate in Lane County and a Springfield resident, has personal experience with a child who needs behavioral health resources. In a May 15 phone interview, she said she has worked with many families who needed help and resources, and they had to find that help in Portland.

“There’s very limited access, and that’s the problem,” she said.

Many folks provided public testimony, sharing the importance and benefits of the proposed development.

Chris Bouneff, executive director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), explained some of the stigma that comes with mental health. Negative attitudes, beliefs, and discrimination prevent people from seeking care and can worsen outcomes for those affected.

According to the NAMI annual impact report from 2024, 922,000 adults in Oregon have a mental health condition, about five times the population in Salem. Also in the report, 76,000 adolescents experience a major depressive episode each year.

“This will serve all walks of life. It will serve people who are homeless and on the street and are transported by law enforcement, and it’ll serve people like me who you would not know lives with a significant mental health disorder if I don’t tell you that,” Bouneff said. “This really is no different than any other healthcare facility.”

Kraig Sproles, Bethel School District Superintendent, also shared his perspective.

“Just this year, as an example, we gave a safety screen to about 2,000 students. We had 167 of those 2,000 students report having suicidal thoughts. Forty-two of those were identified as high risk, and high risk, that means that they have a means, they have a plan, and they have intent, or they’ve already self-harmed,” Sproles said.

He mentioned an example of a middle school student who had recently attempted suicide. He said that the student was placed in a room in the emergency department, transferred to Portland, and “was placed in a different room with a mattress alone in the room by herself for 13 days before she actually found a bed to be treated. The family didn’t have the means to transport themselves up to be able to support her, so we rallied and got them gas cards and used our bussing system to be able to drive them back and forth from the facility.”

Casey Reid, behavioral health pathway specialist at Lane Education Service District, said youth in Lane County have a 65% higher rate of suicide than the national average.

Other public testimony in favor of the annexation includes statements from Cliff Harrold, former Lane County Sheriff and current security manager at PeaceHealth; Patty Perlow, former district attorney and current executive director of Kids First; Christopher Parosa, district attorney for the county; and Sarah Coleman, an emergency medicine specialist.

Right project, wrong location?

Beymer said the International Way location has proven to be ideal. It’s conveniently located off of I-5. It is just over a mile from RiverBend, and within a half an hour of most Lane County residents. However, some neighbors are not in agreement with the proposed structure.

Michael Gelardi of Gelardi Law represented Richardson Sports, a sportswear company at 500 International Way. Ardell Wicks, the chief financial officer of Richardson Sports, also testified.

“This annexation vote takes on a very significant role to obtain the needed infrastructure and to ensure consistency with Springfield’s master plan,” Wicks said. “Both Richardson Sports and I personally agree these buildings and services are needed in our community, but we feel this is the wrong site and not consistent with the approved zoning that has been previously approved.”

Gilardi emailed public testimony to the council on May 6 regarding the annexation. In his email, he said the proposed annexation is contrary to the City’s annexation rules because the Crisis Center is prohibited by the City’s Comprehensive Plan and Development Code. He also noted applicants have not provided an adequate plan for services, including stormwater management, water quality protection, a road development plan, and traffic impacts.

Mike Reeder, an Oregon land-use attorney representing PeaceHealth, responded briefly to the opposing arguments and said that much, if not all, of the opposing testimony has already been addressed in the written material provided to the council.

The written materials include a comprehensive analysis of city policies and plans. According to Reeder, PeaceHealth demonstrated that this annexation meets the burden of proof for approval, including all applicable conference plan policies specific to annexation, as well as extensive findings on transportation and other urban facilities and services.

“Mr. Gilardi is entirely incorrect when he suggests that the Comprehensive Plan policies apply to this particular annexation, and we’ve briefed that, including the transportation issues, it’s simply not true,” Reeder said.

He said annexation does not require the transportation rule and that Gilardi is incorrect in saying that before anything can be cited on this property, whether for its intended use that’s been discussed, or any other use, PeaceHealth is responsible for addressing the problem.

Andy Limbird, senior planner for Springfield Development and Public Works, said city staff would prefer to continue the hearing during the regular meeting on June 1, given the new testimony, and to prepare a response that respects all of the testimonies received.

Before addressing procedural questions about how to proceed with the public hearing, Mayor Sean VanGordon recognized the importance of the mental health topic.

“I just want to spend time acknowledging the significant behavioral health challenges our community faces, and appreciate the fact that we have so many providers in the room that are sharing information about the crisis that this is all about,” he said.

The public hearing will continue June 1.