A Packed House Grills Officials On Group Homes

GROUP HOMES AND CRIME
A packed multi-purpose room at College Park Elementary School greeted Costa Mesa officials and staff as Debbie Leedom and her College Park neighbors hosted a 90-minute question and answer period on two subjects about which they have great concern - the proliferation of sober living homes and crime, in general.

STANDING ROOM ONLY
The meeting, which played to a standing-room-only crowd of approximately 225 in number, was run crisply and pretty much stayed on schedule.  Extraneous questions from the crowd were kept to a minimum until the very end, when time grew short and anxiety continued to build as residents from all parts of the city became not fully satisfied with the answers to their written questions.

 MANY SENIOR STAFFERS PRESENT
Attending for the City were Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, Councilwoman Katrina Foley, CEO Tom Hatch, Interim Police Chief Ron Lowenberg, Director of Development Services Gary Armstrong, Deputy City Attorney Elena Gerli, Assistant Director, Community Improvement Division Jerry Guarrancino, Police Captain Mark Manley, Police Lieutenant Vic Bakkila, Code Enforcement Officers Mike Tucker and Jon Neal and Executive Assistant to Hatch, Kelly Shelton.

CANDIDATES AND ACTIVISTS
In the crowd I recognized many familiar faces from all regions of the City.  I saw former council candidates Jay Humphrey, Tony Capitelli, Lee Ramos and Chris Bunyan.  Many other activists - regular attendees at many official city meetings and volunteers in may areas in town -  were sprinkled throughout the crowd of otherwise just normal residents with big concerns.

WRITTEN QUESTIONS READ
After Leedom kicked things off she handed the microphone to Righeimer, who provided some perspective and introductions.  Then moderator Jay Friedman took over and asked the written questions of the staff.  In general, the staff decided who would field which question.  As you might expect, lawyer Gerli had a big chunk of them, as did Guarrancino.  Righeimer didn't hesitate to grab the microphone, either.

THE CROWD LEARNED A LOT
Much of what was discussed was not new information to those of us who attend city meetings regularly, but it certainly was to many in the crowd.  Among the many things they learned Wednesday night were:

• The City CANNOT regulate state licensed group homes.
• The City CANNOT regulate homes with six (6) or fewer residents plus a house manager because they are considered a "Housekeeping Unit".
• Our Group Home Ordinance applies ONLY to R1 (Single family residential) neighborhoods.
• An ordinance for other residentially-zoned area is in the works, but it's more complicated.
• The City needs the help of residents to identify group homes.
• Righeimer and other staffers recommended the use of the Costa Mesa Connect Smart Phone App.
• They stressed the need to report the group homes with infractions so a file can be created.
• We must tread carefully as we attempt to enforce our ordinances to be sure we are not violating the rights of the residents in those places.
• We learned from Lowenberg that our police staffing is up to 108 today from a low spot of 85 and that efforts are being made to recruit greater numbers of qualified officers.  He mentioned the recent report on the staffing issue on the City Website, HERE.
• Lowenberg, Manley and Bakkila all stressed that they need our help.  Residents MUST call when they have a problem.
• The revised Crime Mapping Program is now available, HERE, but not without some glitches.
• We learned of a Gang/Narcotics bust on Maple Avenue that snatched up 6 criminals.
• We learned that we should be participating in Neighborhood Watch programs.  As Lowenberg said, "Help us help you".
• We learned that Costa Mesa has a quarter of ALL state-licensed group home in Orange County.
• We learned that there is no limit to the time a person can stay in a group home.
• We learned from Lt. Bakkila that they hope to resurrect their bicycle patrols, apparently a very effective tool.
• Captain Manley told us that, for this part of town, Lt. Bakkila is a "mini-police chief" - "He's the guy who will solve your problems".
• We learned that Officer Bill Adams, currently our only School Resource Officer, is one of the best cops we've ever had.
• In response to a concern about Code Enforcement staffing, we learned from Righeimer that the City will "spend whatever it takes so the problem gets handled properly."  We've heard that before...
• We learned from Hatch - in response to a question about how relapsed residents are handled because some are simply dumped onto our streets and become homeless - that the City is dealing with the homeless among us by identifying those with ties to the city, then providing services to them through faith-based organizations.  So far, of the 125 identified, 50 have been placed in housing.
• We learned that representatives of several group homes in Costa Mesa were at the meeting, gathering information.
• We learned that enforcement of group homes is a long process - a matter of months, as various essential steps are taken in order to be sure the operator has a chance to respond.
• We learned that some folks co-mingle in their minds sober living patients with parolees and other criminals.
• And, we learned a lot more.

NO CMTV COVERAGE?
For example, I learned that the City apparently didn't deem this meeting important enough to provide video coverage by CMTV, but it was important enough to cancel the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee meeting, scheduled for the same time on the same date.  That's a shame, because this meeting is the PERFECT example of what can happen when motivated residents team up with City staff to put together an outstanding community outreach opportunity.

ANGRY INQUIRY AT THE END
At the end of the evening one very impatient man stood up and strongly addressed the panel, wondering if they were aware of the Sober Living Network, and the impact they were having on Costa Mesa.  I found a link to that organization, HERE, which shows Costa Mesa as the location for  nineteen (19) facilities - more than double any other Orange County city shown.  It was unclear if he received a satisfactory answer to his questions and statements.  At Tuesday's council meeting we learned that there are another twenty-one (21) group homes in line for licenses in Costa Mesa!

ANY CONNECTIONS?
The final question asked of all the City panelists was, "Do you have any relationships with any of the group home operators?" or words to that effect.  Every staffer answered a resounding NO!  Bakkila told us he had arrested a few of the residents, though.  Righeimer was the final person to answer the question, also with a NO.  It is interesting to note that for several years, HERE, his great friend, Scott Baugh - they just traveled to Israel together as part of a group and he has shared office space with him for years  - has been an advisor for the sober living industry.  I guess we'll presume they never discussed that business.  Uh, huh...

KUDOS, AND THANKS...
Many questions were either not answered or incompletely answered, but Leedom promised to provide feedback to those interested once the answers are determined.  Good job to our friends and neighbors in College Park for hosting and conducting an outstanding event.