Politics & Government

City Council to Consider Regulating Sober-Living Homes Wednesday [Video]

Councilman calls for voters to fill City Council chambers and testify in favor of the measure.

Councilman Mitch Englander has called for voters to fill the City Council chamber Wednesday to testify in favor of regulating group homes.

"We're gonna need it," Englander told the Chatsworth Community Coordinating Council on Monday. "They will fill Council chambers -- the opponents of this -- because it is a multi-billion dollar operation [nationwide]."

"These are warehouses of people in our communities. We've got houses with 30, 40, 50 people living next door to us... These are ticking timebombs."

Find out what's happening in Pacific Palisadeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Neighbors have long complained of drug use, violence, and threats when some of these unregulated homes have opened in single-family residential neighborhoods.

The Public Safety Commission supported the motion last month, where several community leaders from the Westside, including Pacific Palisades, also attended the hearing in December.

Find out what's happening in Pacific Palisadeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Pacific Palisades Community Council approved a resolution in September 2010 supporting the Community Care Facilities Ordinance (CCFO), one of the earliest community or neighborhood councils to do so. In its motion, the council said it desires to protect the character of its low density residential neighborhoods and prevent group homes from locating to R1, RD1.5, R2 and RD zoned areas.

The Brentwood Community Council issued its support for the ordinance in November 2010.

The City Council meeting begins at 10 a.m., Wednesday, at City Hall, and the CCFO is No. 13 on the agenda.

Councilmember Englander has been leading the charge to remove so-called unlicensed sober-living homes, group homes and boarding houses from residential neighborhoods since he was chief of staff for former 12th District Councilman Greig Smith who first introduced the CCFO.

"A super-majority of the Neighborhood Councils throughout the city, I'm happy to report, say they want to see CCFO passed," Englander said. "It will give us another tool for LAPD and Building and Safety to crack down..."

The councilman provided an example: "I just toured a facility recently, and you wouldn't imagine putting an animal in these type of conditions.

"There were feces and rotting food all over the place. This was a home not far from here where four people were assassinated in front of the house in the wee hours of the morning.

"I was actually out at the crime scene right after it occurred, and I toured this house and you couldn't imagine living in those conditions."

Englander said the renter of the front bedroom "had to crawl through the window which was access to-and-from his bedroom." He said there was "so much furniture and debris...  that [the] door hadn't been opened in months."

"Two weeks before the shooting, there was a home just like this in Pasadena that burned down and killed two people," Englander said. "So, these are ticking timebombs in our communities."

Following last month's hearing at city hall, former Community Council President and Chairwoman Emeritus Janet Turner said she "was thrilled" public safety concerns that were addressed locally several years ago about group homes are finally being taken seriously, including receiving support from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

"Is this a perfect ordinance? No," Turner said, giving her personal opinion. "But at least it's a start and will give the community some protections."

Related Patch stories:

Councilman Issues 'Call to Action' on Group Homes

Englander's Group Home Ordinance Scrutinized by Columnist Lopez

Chatsworth Neighborhood Council Reaffirms Opposition to Group Homes

---

Learn more about group homes in this Patch series: 

When Group Homes Locate in Single-Family Neighborhoods
"It was like they had more rights than the people who lived here and paid property taxes," neighbor says.

Group Homes—Neighbors Just Want Them Gone
Sober-living homes exist in residential areas all over Los Angeles, causing friction between neighbors and the homes' operators and residents.

City Hall Battle Looms Over Group-Home Ordinance
A proposed law to regulate unlicensed homes in L.A. has both sides marshaling their forces.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here