Sober living homes in Irvine could be facing increased regulation as city council members look to enhance enforcement on the facilities that provide residential space for people battling alcoholism or drug addiction.

It’s a trend that’s been spreading across the county after the city of Costa Mesa won a legal battle that paved the way for jurisdictions to maintain local control over sober living and group homes.

During a special city council meeting earlier this month, the Irvine City Council unanimously supported an effort brought forth by Councilmember Melinda Liu for staff to create a new ordinance outlining increased enforcement for these facilities.

Irvine staff members are expected to review other cities’ laws and bring forth a version for Irvine at a future city council meeting. The new ordinance will require additional discussion and a vote at upcoming meetings before it can go into effect.

Liu wants to see a few provisions included in the final ordinance — including a 1000-foot minimum buffer between sober living homes and a required 24/7 on-site manager at all facilities.

She said she was inspired to bring forward the new regulations after an Irvine sober living home resident was charged with murdering another resident in the same home in July 2024.

“When the news broke, I checked the address and I realized it’s so close to where some of my friends live with their kids,” Liu said at the June 3 city council meeting. “That got to my attention, and I started looking into this issue.”

Stephanie Frady, director of community development in Irvine, said there are eight sober living homes in the city and current enforcement only includes requiring the facilities to obtain a business license.

“The purpose of this is to not only protect the neighbors and the neighborhoods in the area for public safety reasons,” Liu said, “it’s also to protect the patients who are supposed to be cared for in these homes. But unfortunately, a lot of them are actually not supervised, not equipped to take care of these people who desperately need help in their road on recovery.”

In Costa Mesa, city officials first enacted a sober living home ordinance in 2014. Those regulations established a minimum buffer limit of 650 feet between group homes, and a 2015 update also required that all sober living homes obtain a special permit if they served seven or more occupants. 

Costa Mesa’s ordinance led to a lawsuit between the city and a treatment center called Ohio House. Although it had been operating in the city since 2012, the city denied Ohio House’s permit application since the facility was located within 650 feet of other group homes.

Ohio House’s lawsuit included claims of unlawful discrimination against the disabled residents of the group home, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the city’s requirements were legal in a December 2024 federal ruling.

[Read: Costa Mesa Scores Legal Victory in Sober Living Home Court Battle]

The County of Orange also passed similar regulations in 2020, which were modeled after Costa Mesa’s ordinance.

Other cities have also taken steps to crack down on the facilities.

Earlier this year, Mission Viejo officials unanimously approved their own rules for group homes, outlining 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]

Officials in Fountain Valley and Buena Park also tightened rules on sober living homes after a 2023 OC Grand Jury report found group homes are located too close together and are a large source of neighborhood disruptions. 

[Read: Orange County Cities Grapple With Drug Treatment Facilities]

Most recently, Santa Ana officials directed staff to bring back an ordinance regulating group homes during a meeting in April.

“I want to thank our neighboring city Costa Mesa for brunting much of the legal cost that was involved in creating this measure,” Irvine City Councilmember William Go said at the June 3 meeting.

Mayor Larry Agran, who said he lives on the same street as a sober living facility, suggested the city also implement fines if multiple police calls are made to the same address within a 30-day period.

“The fact that there are sober living homes in our city, that’s a good thing,” Agran said, “as long as they’re properly regulated.”

Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.