Sober-Living Homes Defended at Newport Conference

State, city and local officials gathered this week in Newport Beach to discuss group recovery homes in the city.

Newport Beach Mayor Mike Henn said at Wednesday's conference that the purpose was to provide updated information about sober-living homes and other treatment facilities and gather input from the community.

In January 2008, the City Council adopted an ordinance that changed the way the city regulated many group residential uses. 

Attorney Jim Markman spoke at the conference and addressed the issue of the growing number of group homes in the area and the city's responsibility to regulate recovery facilities by abiding by federal and state handicap laws.

“Newport Beach is a good place for facilities, with all of the duplexes existing in the city," he said. “You can’t just eradicate them by writing a discriminating ordinance. They must stand up to federal scrutiny.”

David DeBerry, Orange city attorney, talked about the issues arising from recovery homes and treatment facilities. DeBerry explained there are more crimes and misdemeanor crimes brought on by college rentals, summer rentals and illegal-immigrant overcrowding in single-family homes than from recovery facilities. Markman concurred that Newport Beach had more problems with vacation rentals and party houses than recovery homes. He said that in Orange, officials have striven to create a good working relationship with the facilities.

"We would rather have folks getting sober than in jail," DeBerry said. "They work, stay out of jail, save all that money it takes to feed and house them in jail and eliminate crime in the long run.”

David Longridge, owner of Balboa Horizons for Women, said the home has a great relationship with the city and appreciates the open lines of communication that assist the facility in putting people back together.

“If you act with a fair hand and not with a heavy hand, and we all work together with the community, we can give quality care and service,” Longridge said.