Home clouds deal

A Sober Living by the Sea home that must close or relocate according to the settlement proposed by the city and the rehab home operator is already dormant, leading some activists to argue this is an example of how the settlement is misleading.

But Newport Beach officials have pointed out that the home was used in the past and Sober Living would have the option to use it again without the settlement agreement.

“We didn’t care how they got to the 144 [bed cap], and we didn’t care that they are not using [the home] now,” Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said. “The bottom line is they applied for a use permit for that facility at one time.”

The facility in question is at 133 45th St., which was listed with another home on that street along with two others on 39th Street as a home that must move or relocate to meet new city ordinances that would restrict Sober Living by the Sea from having more than one facility per block.

Sober Living by the Sea would have to move that home, or another on the street, to meet the ordinance, Kiff said. If the facility is already not in use, then the city is taking advantage of an opportunity with the settlement to prevent it from being used again.

Still, some activists who have been pressuring city officials to combat what they consider an over-concentration of rehab homes in their neighborhoods doubt the settlement has actually reduced the number of beds.

“I don’t know if this is a one-case scenario or if this is how they do business,” said Jack Wu, who lives next door to the 133 45th St. house. “They are saying this was a reduction when there wasn’t really a reduction.”

Wu, who said the home hasn’t been used as a rehab home in months, believes the city’s bed count numbers are inflated. In the settlement’s list of de-concentration per block, it says the 100 block of 45th street housed 44 beds in 2007. With the settlement, that number would be reduced to 24. Wu argues, even without the settlement, the number has been reduced and the city’s settlement is claiming a victory it didn’t actually have anything to do with.

“There is nothing falsified about it,” said Sober Living by the Sea’s attorney, Richard Terzian. “[Because we are not using it now] doesn’t mean we don’t intend to use them again.”

Terzian couldn’t confirm how long the home has not been used or if any of the other homes listed are in use or not. If the City Council approves the settlement, Sober Living by the Sea wouldn’t be able to use the 133 45th St. home unless the company moved or closed its other facility on the block, Kiff said.

“We went all through this with the city and we don’t think we are over-concentrated,” Terzian said. “The law permits us to be where we are. That is why the city made the settlement.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Do you think the settlement between Sober Living by the Sea and Newport Beach is good for the city? Why or why not? Send us an e-mail at dailypilot@latimes.com or leave a comment on our website.

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at daniel.tedford@latimes.com.