Newport activists push stricter rehab stance

This corrects an earlier version of the story.

Newport Beach activists say a lawsuit the city recently filed against two local rehabilitation centers is a good start but not enough to satisfy what they see as a growing problem in the community.

“The filing of the lawsuits by itself is a good start, but the community will see how serious the mayor and the city is about this by how they press it,” activist Bob Rush said Wednesday. Rush has criticized the city for how the issue has been handled. “If they stand their ground, good. If they roll over easily, then we’ll know they’re not too serious.”

The lawsuit, filed by the city last week, names the rehabilitation centers Pacific Shores Recovery and Morningside Recovery as defendants. Also named as defendants are Pacific Shores Recovery property owners Alice and Robert Conner and Barry Saywitz,  who has an interest in a partnership and the partnership owns several properties that have leases with Morningside Recovery.

The suit claims the two homes have been in violation of a city ban on new rehabilitation homes for the past seven months. The legal action is too little too late, said Denys Oberman, a leader of the citizen activist group Concerned Citizens of Newport Beach.

“This is the first action that the city has taken to show the city is serious in responding to over-concentration of these types of facilities in Newport Beach,” Oberman said.

Concerned Citizens plans to file a lawsuit asking the city for “multimillion dollar damages” if the Newport Beach City Council does not create stricter ordinances to stop the spread of rehab homes in Newport Beach within the next 30 to 60 days, Oberman said.

The council expressed its intentions to follow through with stricter rules governing rehab homes in a statement issued Wednesday.

Phone messages left at Pacific Shores Recovery and Morningside Recovery were not returned Wednesday. Saywitz was traveling Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.