Group home owner will ask council to reconsider

Deirdre Newman

Eleanor Manion is a persistent woman.

The owner of a sober-living group home will ask city leaders yet

again to expand her clientele after getting rejected twice -- once by

the Planning Commission and once by the City Council -- on March 3.

On Monday, Manion will ask the City Council for a rehearing based

on two charges, that the City Council applied the wrong legal

standard in denying the increase in clients and that it failed to

comply with the law. Manion also said she will provide evidence

supporting her claim that the “peer system” is essential for

recovery.

The city is embroiled in a lawsuit against Manion for already

exceeding the number of clients she is allowed to have. Some

neighbors have made numerous complaints about the trash and other

unpleasant items strewn on their lawns, allegedly from clients of the

home, in the 3100 block of Cork Lane.

These neighbors remain adamant that the clientele should not be

expanded because the property is not maintained properly and the home

poses a threat to the safety of neighbors.

“We will not wane in this area,” said Kelly Smith, who has led the

charge against the expansion. “We’re not going away. We will fight

arduously. We will continue to be on top of this issue. We have

children that we’re fighting for. We want to reclaim our

neighborhood.”

Dove Cottage is in a neighborhood of Irish-named streets like

Killarney, Limerick and Kerry. Four-leaf clovers hang from some homes

in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day.

The cottage is a modest gray house with a blue and white garage. A

variety of flowers and plants line the entry to the front door. The

front yard has one large tree and another smaller tree that is

overgrown.

The city limit for residents of group homes in residential areas

is six. Manion insists that adding two more people is necessary for

peer support to allow two residents to live in each of the bedrooms

of her modest home

Manion’s home has five bedrooms. She is asking to expand the

number of clients from six to eight. During the City Council hearing,

Manion’s attorney, Eric Katz, argued that it’s the city’s

responsibility to provide “reasonable accommodation” under the

federal Fair Housing Act, which bans discrimination against the

handicapped. People recovering from drug or alcohol addiction are

considered handicapped under the act.

Before rejecting Manion’s appeal at the last City Council meeting,

Mayor Karen Robinson said she didn’t see any evidence why eight

residents would be more beneficial than six.

Manion is reluctant to talk about her home to respect the privacy

of her clients, but on Friday, she spoke through the front screen

door.

She said she is averse to turning her extra bedrooms into living

or recreation rooms because she already has both. She called the

neighborhood the “worst” she has ever lived in and said her neighbors

and city officials don’t want to help those who need it.

“They don’t want to help people in recovery,” Manion said. “That’s

all I’m doing -- helping people who need help.”

Smith, however, says the street is a close-knit community and

Manion has not been a good neighbor. The neighborhood comprises

mainly $400,000 homes, and Manion’s property doesn’t fit in, Smith

said.

“She was asked to repair her fence -- she said she can’t afford

it,” Smith said. “She was asked to cut her tree. She didn’t do that,

either.”

Smith also said there are a lot of group homes in her area and

that she will urge state officials to introduce legislation next year

to prevent these type of homes from being within 300 feet of each

other.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].