NORTH BEND — Faced with irate neighbors on one side and worries of a discrimination lawsuit on the other, North Bend councilors made a hard decision to sell a building to a mental health treatment organization.

The council passed the motion unanimously Wednesday.

The city-owned property leased and occupied for years by the Pacific Child Center Inc., 2345 Marion Ave., went up for sale in early September for a minimum of $200,000. City Administrator Jan Willis said she received a number of calls regarding the property, but the city only got one offer, ringing in at $201,001. That came from ColumbiaCare Services Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that designs, builds and operates residential treatment facilities in Oregon and Idaho. These facilities provide residential services, comprehensive mental health treatment and short-term crisis stabilization services to adults referred by mental health agencies, Columbia’s Web site said.

During the council meeting, Willis and City Attorney Mike Stebbins noted that staff does not know what intentions Columbia has for the place.

Five people who live on Marion Avenue complained that they do not want a treatment center in their neighborhood. They cited the close proximity to North Bend schools, the lack of parking, the poor condition of the road and how such a facility could decrease home values. Some assumed the center would be used to treat drug and alcohol abusers.

Among them, Dan Holmen, who’s a Realtor, said he didn’t want to see a treatment center in his neighborhood, especially one less than 1,000 feet from North Bend high and middle schools.

“I’m honestly concerned about property values,” he said. “I just think that we could find ... another buyer. I personally would love to buy it and tear it down, but with times the way they are, I can’t.”

Because the bidder offered the minimum and only bid, Stebbins said the council has no legal right to turn down its offer. Doing so could open the city up to a potential discrimination lawsuit. The organization would not need a conditional use permit to operate it as a care center or residential facility either, he noted.

Furthermore, the proximity of the potential care center to schools would have no bearing on its use.

“The long and short of it is, our hands are pretty tied ... by the statutes,” Stebbins said.

Resident Gene Brock said the street is a bus and walking route for school children. The street also can’t carry much parking, he said, noting that when Pacific occupied the building, there was a terrific parking problem.

Wanda Williford, a North Bend Beautification Award winner who said she has put a great deal of money into her home, was the most vocal. She lives directly across from the building.

“I don’t think we need these type of people in our neighborhood around our children or around us,” she told the council. “I’m totally against this. If I have to, I will petition. I will fight it to my very end. I do not want this.”

Willis reminded the angered residents that the property has a history as a treatment center. Pacific Child Care originally was built as a residential treatment center for developmentally handicapped children, before becoming a day care center for the same clients, she explained. The center served troubled, abused and at-risk kids from Coos, Curry and western Douglas counties.

To appease some of the neighbors, Willis suggested the buyer could meet with the city’s planning department to address concerns, including parking.

Williford compared the situation to one involving the dangerous house at 2505 Sheridan Ave.

“Are you scared of a little lawsuit?” she exclaimed from the audience.

Willis suggested Williford and other residents contact Columbia about its plans.

Mayor Rick Wetherell and Councilor Janet Rubin said the council had no option but to approve the sale.

Wetherell admitted that the residents’ words didn’t fall on deaf ears, but his and their personal feelings could not take precedent over city ordinances and state law.

“We can’t choose to obey which laws we like and which laws we don’t like,” he said.

Brock asked if the neighborhood could get a consolation prize in the form of street improvements. Willis said there is a potential for a local improvement district fund and said she’d be willing to speak with him about fixing the roadway.