New rules may cause group homes to move

Proposed new rules to regulate group homes in Newport Beach could require some homes to close and move elsewhere, if they don’t meet city requirements and there are too many homes on one street.

Also in the revised rules, which the city released Monday, larger group homes would be barred from all residential areas except for those with multi-family zoning.

The city has been working for months to address some residents’ complaints that group homes, namely drug and alcohol recovery facilities, cause noise, litter and other problems in residential neighborhoods.

The latest proposed rules were updated after a planning commission hearing in June. The commission asked city staff to bring back a slate of regulations that would be tougher than what was first proposed and incorporate more of what residents wanted. The city’s legal counsel had advised caution because of case law that has often protected group homes.

Residents may be pleased by some but not all of the changes. They had asked for a requirement that group homes be spaced at least 1,000 feet apart, but the proposed rules would set a 75-foot distance and say only one group home is allowed per block.

“We didn’t think that was a defensible standard,” Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said of the 1,000 feet suggested by residents. “They [residents] cite cases that are out of the 9th district that have been rejected by the 9th district court.”

The new draft rules also would require group homes to be brought into compliance over a four-month period, and that may mean some homes that can’t or won’t meet requirements would have to move. Those who have followed rules in the past, on the other hand, would be in a better position to get the necessary permits to stay.

The Newport Beach planning commission will discuss the proposed new group home rules Aug. 23.