Women’s facility seeks use permit

Newport Beach will begin hearings this week for residential drug and alcohol treatment programs that want to continue to operate in the city.

The first hearing, for the women’s treatment center Balboa Horizons, will be at 4 p.m. Thursday in Council Chambers at Newport Beach City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd. The public hearing will determine whether to give Balboa Horizons a use permit to continue its operations in Newport Beach.

Balboa Horizons is an 11-bed, 90-day residential treatment program for women recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, as well as mental health problems, according to the home’s website. The program is run out of a house on Balboa Peninsula.

Balboa Horizons settled a lawsuit with the rehabilitation home activist group Concerned Citizens of Newport Beach in June. The group sued Balboa Horizons and several other rehabilitation homes in Newport Beach, alleging that the homes violated state and local laws, causing an over-concentration of drug and alcohol recovery homes in the city.

The group claims that homeowners in Newport coastal neighborhoods have seen a drop in property values because of crime and other nuisances they say the rehabilitation facilities cause.

The terms of the settlement between Balboa Horizons and Concerned Citizens of Newport Beach were not disclosed.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.