Rehab home operator is complying with limits, Newport Beach says
A sober living home operator has complied this year with a 2009 zoning agreement that placed limits on the number of recovering addicts the group can house in Newport Beach, the City Council decided Tuesday night.
The council voted 6 to 0 in finding that Sober Living by the Sea, which at one point was embroiled in a lawsuit with the city, has operated under the terms of the settlement agreement, which limits the number of client beds permitted in the group’s homes and licensed treatment facilities to 204 citywide. Councilman Keith Curry was absent.
Sober Living by the Sea, at 2811 Villa Way, is required to submit a report to the city twice a year showing that it has followed the agreement, which also mandated that the operator move some facilities farther from other rehab homes, maintain a 1,000-foot distance from elementary schools and day care centers and drop its lawsuit challenging a city ordinance that limits the spread of rehab homes. The council reviews the reports.
In an email circulated before Tuesday’s council meeting, City Manager Dave Kiff called Sober Living by the Sea a “cooperative partner” with the city.
Sober Living, once one of the largest rehab treatment operators in Newport Beach, reduced its number of clients by 78% between May 2008 and September this year. It currently has 44 client beds in Newport, according to a city staff report.
Sober Living sued the city shortly after it passed an ordinance in 2008 that effectively prohibits new group homes with seven or more residents from opening in most residential areas and requires existing group homes to complete the same permitting process required of new ones, including an extensive public review.
The measure was fueled partly by city residents’ complaints about parking problems, cigarette smoke, noise and a constant turnover of neighbors stemming from group homes in West Newport, the Balboa Peninsula and other areas.
Sober Living said the ordinance discriminated against recovering drug addicts and alcoholics in violation of the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. The act prohibits discrimination against people who are in a “protected class,” which courts have determined includes recovering addicts protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The 2009 agreement ended the lawsuit. The ordinance remains in effect.
A commercial property owner and a resident sent letters to the City Council this month hat included words of support for Sober Living’s operation.
“Sober Living has been doing a great service to [Newport Beach], and the impacts to the area are positive, including my tenant offering Sober Living’s clients art lessons as part of their recovery program,” wrote Kenneth Scofield, who owns commercial property along the Balboa Peninsula.
