Sober-living homes and hotel expansion on Costa Mesa Planning Commission agenda
Members of the Costa Mesa Planning Commission on Monday will review three permit applications for sober-living homes and a proposed high-rise expansion for a hotel in the South Coast Metro area.
The sober-living home operators are asking the commission to approve permits they need to remain open under city ordinances restricting how close such facilities can be to one another.
One operator, Windward Way Recovery, is seeking city approval to house up to 28 men in eight units on adjoining parcels at 351 and 357 Victoria St.
Costa Mesa resident Gregg Ohlhaver is also petitioning to keep open a sober-living home for up to six residents at 2152 Raleigh Ave., which he operates as Keystone Sober Living.
In both cases, city staff denied the permit requests because the residences were deemed too close to other drug and alcohol recovery or treatment facilities — prompting the appeals to the Planning Commission.
In 2014, the City Council adopted an ordinance requiring that sober-living homes with six or fewer occupants in single-family neighborhoods be at least 650 feet apart. Council members went on to create similar rules for such homes in multifamily-zoned areas last year.
City officials have said the goal of the regulations is to prevent the close clustering of sober-living facilities in residential areas.
Some sober-living operators, however, claim the restrictions discriminate against recovering alcoholics and drug addicts who are considered disabled under state and federal law.
Ohlhaver and Windward Way’s chief executive and founder, Jeremy Broderick, are asking the commission for leniency on the distance requirement.
In previous interviews with the Daily Pilot, both men have said they’ve been open for years and take care to operate their facilities in ways that don’t nearby neighbors.
Sober-living homes have been a controversial topic in Costa Mesa for years. Critics say they can disrupt neighborhoods and contribute to parking and traffic problems, crime, noise, secondhand smoke and other negative effects.
Others have decried the sheer number of sober-living facilities. As of last month, there were 83 state-licensed drug and alcohol facilities and 95 others considered sober-living homes in the city, according to city spokesman Tony Dodero.
Supporters and operators, though, say they provide a necessary service to the community by giving people a safe and secure place to maintain a lifestyle free of alcohol and drugs.
Proposed hotel expansion
Also on Monday’s agenda is a proposal to add a 15-story, 150-room tower to the Avenue of the Arts hotel in South Coast Metro.
The high-rise tower would supplant a previously approved condominium project on the hotel property, 3350 Avenue of the Arts.
The proposed tower would augment the hotel’s current 238 rooms, which occupy a six-story building. It would also include a restaurant/lounge and banquet facilities, according to planning documents.
Proposed site plans also entail replacing the existing parking structure on the site with a new, six-story one.
Monday’s Planning Commission meeting starts at 6 p.m. in City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
