Rehab issue kicked back

A hearing officer will hear the case of a Newport Beach drug and alcohol recovery home again after allegations arose that the home illegally treated at least two teenage boys, and abandoned one teen who lived hundreds of miles from the center with no means of getting home after police discovered he was underage.

The Newport Beach City Council was slated Tuesday to decide whether to allow the 29-bed men’s treatment center Newport Coast Recovery to remain open, but instead chose to kick the matter back to the city’s independent hearing officer in light of the new evidence.

“[Newport Coast Recovery] continues to make excuses for continuing to not comply with city codes and ordinances,” Denys Oberman said, a leader of the group Concerned Citizens of Newport Beach, which has advocated for stricter city ordinances on drug and alcohol recovery homes in Newport Beach.

“The question we have to ask ourselves is that is this an applicant that is prepared to be judicious and has he demonstrated he is prepared to operate his business,” Oberman said.

A woman who said she sent her minor son to Newport Coast Recovery for treatment complained to Newport Beach police in March that staff members at the treatment center had told her son to lie about his age because Newport Coast was not licensed to treat minors, according to a police report.

One minor boy was taken from Newport Coast Recovery in another resident’s personal vehicle, where he relapsed on drugs, and later was taken to another sober living house in Costa Mesa, without notifying his parents, according to a city report.

“When Newport Beach and Costa Mesa Police found the child, Newport Coast Recovery told the police that they would not take him back into their facility because he was a minor, effectively abandoning him,” the report claims.

The boy’s family lives in Las Vegas and Fresno County, and he had no means of getting home, according to the report.

The hearing officer had previously denied the home a permit to operate in the city, citing resident complaints of second-hand smoke and its proximity to two businesses that sell alcohol. Newport Coast Recovery has appealed the decision.

Chris Brancard, an attorney for Newport Coast Recovery, only briefly addressed the treatment center’s alleged illegal treatment of minors, saying the issue wasn’t relevant to the city’s review of the matter.

Brancard claimed the hearing officer’s decision to deny Newport Coast Recovery a permit to remain open was based on “discriminatory stereotypes of people in recovery, that individuals in recovery loiter, smoke and engage in offensive, disruptive behavior,” he said.

“This is speculation based on discriminatory stereotypes and anecdotal evidence,” Brancard said.

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