It’s been vacant for seventeen years. And now there are signs of progress toward finding a new use for Nevada County’s former Health, Education, and Welfare building, on Willow Valley Road in Nevada City. The county vacated the building in 2006, over five years after a shooting rampage by a Behavioral Health client that killed two people and wounded another person. A developer has owned the building since 2011 and made a presentation recently to the city’s Housing Strategic Initiative Committee. Bill Litchfield is proposing a 63-unit apartment complex. City Councilman, and committee member, Doug Fleming, says the vast majority of neighbors oppose that level of density…

click to listen to Doug Fleming

And Fleming also opposes that type of configuration…

click to listen to Doug Fleming

Fleming also notes that the building still sits on county property and it would need to be annexed into Nevada City. And that would also require a neighborhood vote. It is in the city’s sphere of influence. Litchfield has not made a formal proposal yet and there’s no indication when that might be.