Voters in Ft. Bragg have rejected a proposed ban on social service organizations in the town鈥檚 downtown area.
While it would have applied to a wide range of non-profits, Measure U was aimed squarely at Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center.
The agency moved into a historic downtown building in 2015, where it began providing case management and mental health services to homeless people, with plans to eventually offer transitional housing at the Old Coast Hotel.
The Ft. Bragg City Council approved the sale, but more than 1,000 local residents signed a petition to keep the homeless out of the hotel, a move that put Measure U on the primary ballot. The measure would have amended the city鈥檚 code to prohibit social service organizations in the Central Business District, unless the organization was established before 2015.
The measure failed 56 to 44 percent.