Officials in Santa Ana are looking to join a growing list of Orange County cities regulating problematic sober living homes amid noise complaints, drug use and various disturbances in residential areas.
On Tuesday, city council members directed staff to bring back an ordinance regulating group homes where people with alcohol and drug addictions stay and participate in a recovery program to help them achieve sobriety.
The request from Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Phil Bacerra and David Penaloza comes after Costa Mesa recently won a legal battle centered on group home regulations.
In December, Costa Mesa successfully defended an ordinance requiring sober living homes to obtain a special permit from the city – something city officials in Santa Ana said set a precedent for cities grappling with problematic group homes throughout California.
[Read: Costa Mesa Scores Legal Victory in Sober Living Home Court Battle]
“We’ve seen a lot of work go into finally getting to this point where we as a city have been able to take what they’ve already done, something that’s been battle tested in court,” Bacerra said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“What staff will be able to bring back is a tribute to what these other cities have been able to do through the battles that they’ve endured all the way up to essentially the state Supreme Court.”
Penaloza said ordinances in cities like Costa Mesa allow municipalities across the state to tackle and address problematic group homes impacting residential areas.
“They’re not all bad, but there are a lot of bad ones out there that are causing harm in our neighborhoods,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting, adding that such an ordinance was “a long time coming.”
“There’s a lot of these homes that are out there, they’re not being held accountable.”
Amezcua said it’s important to regulate group homes to protect the quality of life of residents and keep them safe.
At the same time, Amezcua added there are good drug treatment programs, but unregulated problematic group homes impact neighborhoods.
“We’re not talking about those ones. We’re talking about the ones that bring people in, out of state, use up the insurance, and then before you know it, that young man or that young lady is on our streets homeless, and so then we’re responsible to deal with them, and so is the police department,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting.
It’s not just Costa Mesa and Santa Ana focusing on problematic group homes.
Officials in other Orange County cities like Fountain Valley and Buena Park have also tightened rules on sober living homes after an OC Grand Jury report last year found group homes are located too close together and are a large source of neighborhood disruptions.
Jurors also found that some cities with laws to regulate group homes aren’t enforcing them.
Earlier this year, Mission Viejo officials unanimously approved their own rules for group homes, requiring a permit process, parking regulations and a buffer zone between other sober living homes.
[Read: Another Orange County City Cracks Down on Sober Living Homes]
Meanwhile, state legislators are trying to boost local oversight of sober living homes with a host of new bills – including two that Santa Ana leaders are pointing to in their request.
In March, State Senator Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) reintroduced a bill – SB35 – that would allow local jurisdictions to investigate sober living homes to ensure they are adhering to state regulations.
Earlier this year, Assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) introduced AB492 which requires state health officials to notify local leaders when a new treatment facility opens up shop in their jurisdiction.
At the same time, more sober homes could be popping up.
Last year, voters across California narrowly approved Proposition 1 – a statewide ballot measure that authorizes $6.4 billion in bonds to create more housing for homeless people and drug treatment centers.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.