BREAKING NEWS:

A U.S. District Court judge issued an injunction today to temporarily stop Newport Beach from clamping down on licensed drug and alcohol recovery homes that house six or fewer recovering addicts, but also ruled he would allow the bulk of a city ordinance aimed at curbing the spread of the recovery homes to stand.

Judge James Selna decreed the city cannot force drug and alcohol recovery homes that are already licensed by the state to apply for permits if they house six or fewer people. The city can regulate larger homes and unlicensed homes where six or fewer recovering addicts live, but regulating smaller, licensed homes flies in the face of state law, the judge ruled.

“We’re absolutely pleased,” said attorney Jim Markman, who represents the city on the rehabilitation home issue. “We understood where the difficult areas were and we are very happy with the court’s reaction to the ordinance as a whole.”

The ordinance has passed its first major legal hurdle with the ruling. Most of the recovery homes will have to undergo a public hearing process and obtain permits to remain open under the ordinance, which the city passed in January.

The city’s largest drug and alcohol recovery home, Sober Living by the Sea, had originally asked the court to strike down the entire ordinance as discriminatory toward recovering drug addicts and alcoholics who live in the city.

“We still believe the ordinance is discriminatory and will continue our battle,” said John Peloquin, vice president of operations for CRC Health Group, which owns Sober Living By the Sea. “But the ruling is the ruling, and we’re going to abide by the ruling.”

Because of the new court ruling, Newport Beach city officials estimate as many as 50 drug and alcohol rehabilitation homes will apply for permits before the May 22 deadline, said Councilman Mike Henn. The councilman has asked the city to take a second look at how much it plans to budget next fiscal year to deal with the homes in light of the ruling, he said. Sober Living by the Sea is expected to file for as many as 20 permits, one for each of its many licensed homes that house recovering drug addicts and alcoholics in the city.

“We really didn’t know what to expect,” Henn said. “All we know now is that we could get as many as 50 applications and Sober Living could have as many as 20 use permit applications itself — each one will have to be separately processed. It looks like a lot of work in front of us and we want to make sure we have enough resources to get it taken care of.”

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