Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., Thursday, July 7, 2016

City leaders soon will review the first permits required for the Douglas County mental health center.

As part of its meeting Monday, the Lawrence City Commission will review a special use permit for the residential components of the center, which will be located at 1000 W. 2nd St. Plans for the center call for a mental health services facility, 12-bedroom group home and 10 one-bedroom apartments, according to a city staff memo to the commission.

City Planner Sandra Day said that the special use permit is required for the residential uses because the property is zoned general public and institutional. Day said that zoning district is used for most of the city’s public property, and requires that a master plan be created.

“It’s really trying to give the community and surrounding area an understanding of what is the scope of uses of that public property,” Day said.

As part of the special use permit for the group home and apartments, Day said all neighbors within 400 feet were notified. Those living in the group home and apartments will have supportive mental health services.

The residential portion of the development aligns with the existing residential portion of the neighborhood to the immediate south, according to the memo. A future phase will include the construction of the community mental health facility and an expanded parking lot.

In November, Douglas County voters overwhelmingly approved a quarter-cent sales tax that will fund a behavioral health campus and enhanced mental health and drug treatment services. That vote came after a May referendum in which voters rejected a half-cent sales tax to fund a behavioral health campus and enhanced services, as well as a $44 million expansion of the county jail.

Day said that currently, the special use permit only includes the residential components of the project, which is what the commission will review Monday. She said other approvals for the project, such as re-platting of the land formerly owned by the school district and the components related to the mental health services, will be considered in the future.

The City Commission will convene at 5:45 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.