City asks court to dismiss sober-living lawsuit

Costa Mesa’s attorneys have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that claims a new city ordinance discriminates against recovering drug addicts and alcoholics.

The lawsuit, filed in November by Solid Landings Behavioral Health, which runs several of the recovery houses in the city, contends the law unfairly targets sober-living homes and their residents and that the city is trying to drive such tenants out of town.

The ordinance, approved by the City Council in November, instituted new restrictions on sober-living homes in single-family neighborhoods. The homes in those areas are now required to have city-issued permits and be located at least 650 feet from one another, a new distance that will force some of them to either move or close.

City attorneys argue that the ordinance does not violate federal fair-housing laws — such laws are applicable because addicts in recovery are considered disabled and are therefore a protected class — and that it actually goes further in extending rights to those in recovery.

The city points out that sober-living residences provide those in recovery an opportunity to live in single-family neighborhoods that is denied to other communal establishments, including boardinghouses and bed and breakfasts.

Costa Mesa’s law balances “legitimate interests of the city with the housing rights of the disabled,” Deputy City Attorney James Touchstone wrote in documents filed Friday, explaining that the homes have proliferated throughout town and are known to change the character of neighborhoods for the worse.

Costa Mesa contains an estimated 26% of the county’s sober-living facilities but has only about 4% of the county’s total population, officials say.

The city counts an estimated 170 sober-living homes containing some 1,200 beds, according to recent staff estimates. About 60 of the homes are in single-family neighborhoods and affected by the ordinance.

Solid Landings called the boardinghouse reference “a ruse.”

“The city of Costa Mesa apparently loves its liquor,” Solid Landings attorney Leonard Herr wrote in court documents filed in November. “Too many teetotalers near each other is considered a threat to the neighborhood.... [The ordinance’s] purpose is plain. Shut down a bunch of sober-living homes and make it near impossible to open a new one up is the goal of the city.”

Solid Landings had sought a temporary restraining order against the ordinance, though it was denied in November. The firm is now seeking a preliminary injunction.

Judge James Selna is scheduled to hear the case at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 23 in the federal courthouse in Santa Ana.