New group homes banned in Newport

NEWPORT BEACH — The City Council has temporarily blocked any new group homes from opening, but how effective the ban will be is an open question.

For months some residents have pressed the city to tackle problems they attribute to drug and alcohol recovery homes and sober-living houses, such as noise, litter and crime. The council has responded, but with caution because the facilities are protected by state and federal laws.

Residents asked for a moratorium on the homes while the city looks at tougher regulations, and on Tuesday they got it. In a 6-0 vote, with Don Webb absent, the council approved a 45-day moratorium on new group homes and permits for short-term rentals.

City Atty. Robin Clauson explained that legally the city must evaluate property based on the type of use, not who’s using it.

“Failure to evaluate all the transitory uses would likely cause a court to conclude that the city operated with discriminatory intent against a protected class of residents,” Clauson said.

Although the moratorium could be extended to a total of two years, Clauson said she intends to have new regulations drafted in a month. She also made clear that the moratorium won’t stop all drug recovery homes. Facilities that house six or fewer people, hold a state license and don’t operate in conjunction with other facilities are exempt from the ban because under state law they must be treated like residential homes.

City officials have said they don’t know for sure how many group homes there are in Newport because the ones without state licenses — such houses that provide a sober environment but no treatment — don’t need a city permit to open. That may make it difficult to track new facilities during the moratorium.

But Clauson told the council that the city’s best information shows a total of 73 residential units of drug-recovery or sober-living homes on 34 parcels.

Some residents criticized the council for including short-term rentals in the ban, saying that tying the two issues together could jeopardize progress of new regulations for recovery homes.

“It is obvious that rental homes are already regulated,” Michael Tidus, an attorney representing some residents, said. “Sober-living homes are not.”

Others said the moratorium would hurt property owners who want to sell and would scare away potential buyers.