Oregon Public Broadcasting

Residents of a Milwaukie neighborhood don't want a home for people with mental illnesses built near them. They appealed to Clackamas County Commissioners at Thursday’s regular meeting.

The commissioners listened to the neighbors' concerns but said they could do nothing.

Jill Younce is a member of the Ardenwald-Johnson Creek Neighborhood Association and was at Thursday’s meeting. She says the facility might hold felons, and wouldn't fit into the neighborhood.

Jill Younce: "This is not an appropriate facility for any neighborhood, it’s not just ours that we are concerned with. Granted I don’t want this around the corner from my house I also don’t want it five miles up the road."

Cindy Becker, the Clackamas County Director of Health and Human Services, said the county cannot interfere with the siting of the home.  It's protected from discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.

Construction will begin in February.