Council to determine rehab home’s fate

The Newport Beach City Council will decide Tuesday whether to allow a drug and alcohol recovery home to remain open after a hearing officer ordered it to close in part because it is near two businesses that sell alcohol.

In January, Balboa Peninsula-based Newport Coast Recovery became the first drug and alcohol recovery home denied a use permit under a controversial ordinance to regulate the homes the city passed last year.

The 29-bed men’s treatment center has appealed the decision.

The ordinance requires most of the homes in Newport Beach to obtain use permits and go through a public hearing process to remain open.

Newport Beach officials moved to deny the rehabilitation home a use permit in part because it is within walking distance of a bar and a market that sells alcohol.

“That’s just a ludicrous standard,” said Steven Polin, a Washington D.C.-based attorney who represents Newport Coast Recovery. “People go into recovery to learn how to live a lifestyle free of drugs and alcohol — alcohol is around us wherever we go. People who go into treatment because they have problems with drugs and alcohol learn to live life on life’s terms.”

Newport Coast Recovery has already filed a federal complaint against Newport Beach, claiming that the city’s rehabilitation home ordinance discriminates against recovering drug addicts under federal law.

The rehabilitation home operates out of a seven-unit apartment building at 1216 W. Balboa Blvd.

The center’s neighbors have complained about noise and recovering drug addicts smoking cigarettes outside the building.

Residents also were concerned about Newport Coast Recovery’s proximity to Newport Elementary School, which is down the street.

“To have a facility such as this that is so close to an elementary school doesn’t make a lot of sense,” said Balboa Peninsula resident Larry Mathena, who has attended most of the public rehabilitation home hearings, speaking out against what he sees as an over concentration of treatment centers in the city.

“The city is in a tough spot because the laws are very cumbersome and difficult to comply with in a manner that meets the rights of the disabled, but also protects the community from the negative issues,” Mathena said.

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