Newport showing rehab homes the door

At least nine drug and alcohol recovery homes in Newport Beach must shut their doors by today under a controversial city ordinance passed last year to slow the growing number of sober living houses in the city.

City officials have vowed to enforce the ordinance and force the homes to shut down if the operators don’t comply.

“We need to wait until deadline has passed and see which of those locations have in fact closed,” said Newport Beach City Councilman Mike Henn. “To the extent they have not, we will vigorously pursue abatement of those locations.”

Extracting the homes from the city could take legal action in some cases.

“We are instructed move them out in any way — including lawsuits,” said Jim Markman, the city’s independent attorney charged with defending the ordinance.

Sober living homes the city expects to shut down include two, 11-bed homes on River Avenue in Newport Beach run by Morningside Recovery, and the Lynn House, an eight-bed women’s recovery home in the Santa Ana Heights area of the city.

Attorney Ron Talmo, who represents Morningside Recovery, declined to comment Friday, but court documents show that Morningside may hope to circumvent city law by getting state licenses from the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs for its recovery homes.

State officials confirmed late last year that Morningside had an application pending with the department.

The Kramer Center, a 12-bed sober living house at 207 28th St., also could be forced to close if the city does not grant its request to remain open under state and federal disability rights laws.

Officials from the Kramer Center declined to comment Friday.

Lynn House, 1501 Pegasus St., is moving its residents to a new location next week in Costa Mesa. The home isn’t leaving Newport Beach because of the ordinance, but for financial reasons, said Jodi Codd, operations manager for Lynn House.

“We’re not making any money — we just want to help women,” Codd said. “The rent is extremely high here, and we found a more affordable place where we can continue to help more women.”

Reporter Brianna BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].