HomeMy WebLinkAbout18-28 - California State Legislative Support, Sober Living HomesRESOLUTION NO. 18-28
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA,
CALIFORNIA, SEEKING CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT TO CERTIFY
AND REGULATE RESIDENTIAL RECOVERY FACILITIES (SOBER LIVING HOMES)
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS
FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, in 2008, Congress passed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity
Act, which made available additional insurance benefits to people with substance abuse
disorders; and
WHEREAS, the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 authorized adults under
the age of 26 to use their parents' insurance, required insurance providers to cover pre-
existing conditions, and guaranteed coverage despite multiple drug relapses; and
WHEREAS, an unintended consequence of the aforementioned benefits, stemming
in large part from the opioid crisis that has overtaken our country, has been the unplanned
and rapid growth of "sober living homes"; and
WHEREAS, the State of California has done little to nothing in the way of oversight
in the sober living home industry beyond voluntary standards that are essentially self -
policed; and
WHEREAS, we are far more likely to bring about positive change at the state level
versus the federal level; and
WHEREAS, Costa Mesa has 29% of the state licensed residential drug and alcohol
facilities in Orange County, California. The following is a breakdown: 88 state licensed
drug and alcohol treatment facilities in town, 18 City approved facilities, 12 denied
applications, 17 applications on appeal, and 13 applications withdrawn from the process.
160 citations have been issued to facilities by code enforcement staff for municipal code
violations; and
WHEREAS, legitimate and well run sober living homes can be both good neighbors
and effective programs for struggling addicts. However, many sober living homes are
operating today without even minimum standards, resulting in the warehousing of patients
in substandard housing that endangers public health and safety; and
Resolution No. 18-28 Page 1 of 4
WHEREAS, The City of Costa Mesa strongly encourages the California legislature
to support the prohibition of patient brokering and referrals for any consideration and also
encourages support for Assembly Bill 572.; and
WHEREAS, the number of sober living homes operating in Costa Mesa and cities
across the state is unknown because there is no mandatory registration at any level of
government; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has held that cities have the right to
regulate both the number of people who may reside in a single-family dwelling unit and
the manner in which a single-family dwelling is used as long as such regulations do not
unfairly discriminate or impair an individual's rights of privacy and association; and
WHEREAS, some sober living homes in the City of Costa Mesa have engaged in
abuse, neglect, mistreatment, fraud, and/or inadequate supervision of the vulnerable
people in recovery who populate these homes; and
WHEREAS, some sober living homes in the City of Costa Mesa have failed to
provide the supportive, family -like living environment essential to achieving and
maintaining sobriety; and
WHEREAS, some sober living homes in the City of Costa Mesa have evicted
residents into homelessness in the absence of a discharge procedure that provides for
their safety, a place to live, and fosters sobriety; and
WHEREAS, neighboring residents have expressed concerns about exposure to
second hand smoke, noise, debris, drug paraphernalia, and to the poor conduct and lack
of neighborly behavior of some residents of sober living homes in their immediate vicinity;
and
WHEREAS, in 2016 state of Florida enacted comprehensive statewide legislation
to successfully address the proliferation of unregulated sober living homes and in 2017
the state of Arizona enacted legislation providing for direct regulation of sober living
homes that included minimum standards to be set by local jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, the state of Florida has taken concrete, effective steps to combat
unregulated sober living homes, which includes prohibiting deceptive marketing practices
and materially false or misleading statements or information, expanding the items that
may not be used to induce a patient, adding patient brokering to the offenses that
Resolution No. 18-28 Page 2 of 4
constitute "racketeering activities", allowing the Office of Statewide Prosecution to
investigate and prosecute patient brokering, enhancing penalties for higher volumes of
patient brokering, requiring entities providing substance abuse marketing services to be
licensed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; and
WHEREAS, the state of Florida through its sober living home Task Force has
made 41 arrests in the past year for patient brokering and other criminal activity within the
drug treatment and sober living homes industries, and is responsible for uncovering the
"Florida Shuffle", a system built to create recurring relapses so that the insurance
payment clock can be reset for patients that can no longer afford to pay for their treatment;
and
WHEREAS, the state of Arizona's has also taken concrete, effective steps to combat
unregulated sober living homes, which include allowing a city, town or county to adopt by
ordinance health and safety standards for structured sober living homes that comply with
state and federal fair housing laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act, with specific
reasonable standards for the protection of residents;
WHEREAS, the primary purpose of this resolution is to request that the State of
California Legislature enact legislation similar to Florida and Arizona related to sober
living facilities.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Costa Mesa strongly urges that
the State support both State and federal legislation that re-examines exemptions from
local regulation that have led to unintended consequences and that recognizes and
enhances local authority to limit and regulate residential recovery facilities in areas zoned
residential; and that requires sober living homes to obtain an operating license and meet
minimum consumer protection standards to protect both the patients and the
neighborhoods that support them.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 17th day of April, 2018.
Sandra L. Genis, Mayor
Resolution No. 18-28 Page 3 of 4
ATTEST:
I9/,,,1W110,ll
en :r
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE )
CITY OF COSTA MESA )
ss
APPROVED,AS TO FORM:
Thomas Duarte, City Attorney
I, BRENDA GREEN, City Clerk of the City of Costa Mesa, DO HEREBY CERTIFY
that the above and foregoing is the original of Resolution No. 18-28 and was duly passed
and adopted by the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa at a regular meeting held on
the 17th day of April, 2018, by the following roll call vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Foley, Righeimer, Stephens, Mansoor, and Genis.
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereby set my hand and affixed the seal of the
City of Costa Mesa this 18th day of April, 2018.
a.�� d au�
Brenda Gree City Clerk
Resolution No. 18-28 Page 4 of 4