Rehab deal reaction mixed

John Maddocks has been living in a home on River Avenue in West Newport Beach for 10 years. While he knew he lived near a Sober Living by the Sea facility, he wasn’t sure which building it was, despite living about five homes away.

“I haven’t noticed a significant impact [in the area],” Maddocks said. “It doesn’t exactly warm my heart [to know one is there], but it’s not exactly a house full of sex offenders.”

Maddocks’ opinion about the rehab homes in the area is fairly consistent with others in his neighborhood: He is concerned for his children, but hasn’t had any problems with the facility. Maddocks and some of his neighbors believe a settlement that kept rehab homes in check, without clamping down too heavily, was a good compromise.

Newport Beach and Sober Living by the Sea came to what both sides believe is a fair settlement deal over the weekend, putting a cap on bed limits in the city and imposing restrictions on where the homes can be placed.

“It was a substantial concession on our part,” said Richard Terzian, attorney for Sober Living by the Sea. “We have given all that we are going to give, and that was acceptable to city representatives and acceptable to us.”

Other Newport Beach residents believe the city’s settlement doesn’t go far enough to restrict or deter the rehab homes.

“The City Council has conceded to give away West Newport Beach at the benefit of the rest of the city,” said resident Bob Rush, an outspoken advocate against the rehab homes.

Newport Beach City Councilman Steve Rosansky echoed Terzian’s belief that Sober Living by the Sea made major concessions, while the city did as well.

“The best thing is that Sober Living by the Sea is agreeing to things we couldn’t get them to do otherwise,” Rosansky said, referring to the facilities’ agreement to include houses with six or fewer residents in the bed count caps.

Bill Spitalnick lives 72 inches from a home owned and operated by Sober Living by the Sea — he measured it himself — and hasn’t had any complaints about the operation in his 11 years of living there. He sees the settlement as a good compromise for the city.

“It sounds like it is a fair deal all the way around,” he said. “As long as the people get help, that is the main thing. I am sure there are a lot of people who need help.”

But not all Newport residents are happy with the settlement.

“They are pacifying us. They are not getting rid of any of these homes,” 32-year Balboa Peninsula resident Ken Kuhlmann said. “We are still concerned with how we are going to get this concentration in the peninsula down. They have to cut this down.”

Rush doesn’t see the decreases city officials are presenting as representative of the whole picture. While the city is boasting more than 40% decreases in rehab home beds citywide and more than 30% from Sober Living by the Sea alone, Rush said the numbers used were inflated when the city used peak or potential highs for bed counts and then based settlement figures on those numbers.

But Asst. City Manager Dave Kiff argues that the bed counts are the most accurate anyone has come up with — saying Sober Living by the Sea had as many as 238 beds in Lido Isle, Balboa Peninsula and West Newport Beach at one point in 2007 — and that a cap of 156 was a big victory for the city.

“I believe the overall state of the economy is affecting the recovery industry, and Sober Living by the Sea is ratcheting back their homes,” Kiff said. “We are taking advantage of that timing and saying ‘where you are now is where you are going to stay, at least on the peninsula.’ ”

Sober Living by the Sea is using about 160 beds and will reduce those numbers to the new caps within the next year, pending the approval of the settlement by the Planning Commission and City Council, Terzian said.

Kiff said the city’s bed count numbers were taken from the use permits filed by Sober Living by the Sea and are the most accurate barometers for what the recovery homes may house if demand called for it.

“This agreement says they can’t grow to back up to where they were,” Kiff said.

While bed count levels will initially decrease to 156 if the settlement is approved, the settlement allows for expansion by Sober Living up to 48 more beds into other less-concentrated parts of Newport Beach that aren’t single family residence areas like Balboa Peninsula, Terzian said.

Concerned Citizens for Newport Beach, which is involved in a lawsuit with the city concerning rehab homes, doesn’t support the settlement. Instead, the group views it as a benefit for Sober Living by the Sea.

“It is clear to us that the city officials are very closely aligned with Sober Living by the Sea, and the city is actively seeking to protect the company’s business at the expense of the community,” spokeswoman Denys Oberman said.

BED COUNT CAPS FOR SOBER LIVING BY THE SEA UNDER THE NEW SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:

Citywide: 204 beds

Balboa Peninsula, Lido Isle, West Newport: 156

DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

 Must be a 1,000-foot separation from elementary schools and licensed day care facilities.

 No facility can be next to a tot lot.

 Will relocate up to five shelters away from homes on the same block to meet the city ordinance of “one facility per block.”

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at [email protected].