Critics oppose business’ permit request

Sober Living by the Sea, which has a headquarters in Cannery Village, applies for permit after seven years of operation.The Newport Beach planning commission will be faced with an unusual request Thursday: whether to classify the hub facility for a collection of drug and alcohol recovery homes as a social club.

The debate that’s flared among neighbors and the recovery homes -- which do business as Sober Living by the Sea -- over a simple permit has revived old complaints about the effect drug-treatment facilities have on city residents.

Through an oversight, operators of Sober Living by the Sea have been operating at a building in Cannery Village without a permit for seven years. Now they’re asking for the permit, but some neighbors want the city to say no.

Sober Living operates 17 smaller residential care homes around Newport Beach that each serve six or fewer people, and the operation leases 22 apartments, some of which are for program participants and staff. The facility on Villa Way in Cannery Village offers counseling, lectures, a computer lab and administrative offices.

One sticking point for neighbors is parking. City codes require 57 spaces, but the latest plan for the facility would provide a total of just 15 spaces for staff use. Sober Living officials say their clients mainly use bicycles or are transported in vans to and from the treatment homes, school and jobs.

But with its numerous restaurants and bars, Cannery Village is already burdened by a shortage of parking, said developer Kevin Weeda, who recently built the million-dollar Cannery Lofts and has an office on nearby 30th Street.

He said he’s pleased with the latest parking proposal, which adds 13 new spaces to the two that exist but isn’t sure it’s enough.

Neighbors also question classifying Sober Living as a social club. The city definition includes meeting facilities of private organizations.

Bruce Low, who lives on 29th Street, said the facility should be considered a hospital because it has medical staff, and it would make more sense in another part of town. Cannery Village zoning doesn’t allow hospital uses.

“It doesn’t mean you have to leave town. All it means is you have to go and do your business in a place where it’s permitted,” Low said.

Some neighbors also complained that Sober Living clients litter and are noisy, and some attribute crime problems in the area to the recovery homes.

The debate about drug treatment homes in Newport Beach is one Newport officials have been dealing with since at least 2004, and operators of Sober Living think they’re getting pinned with long-standing grievances.

Gerry Farrell, a graduate of Sober Living’s program and now an employee, said most people don’t have any problem with the Villa Way operation, and several neighbors submitted letters of support to the city.

“We’re in the business of helping people,” Farrell said.

“People come here to get well and they pay a lot of money to do it.”

QUESTION

Should the sober living facility be given a permit to remain in Cannery Village? Call our Readers Hotline at (714) 966-4664 or send e-mail to dailypilot@latimes.com. Please spell your name and tell us your hometown and phone numbers for verification purposes only.20060118it9n9zncDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)The Sober Living by the Sea building is on Villa Way in Cannery Village in Newport Beach. The planning commission must decide if it will grant a permit to the drug- and alcohol-abuse recovery center.