Last Day Of November Election Results

STILL CHIPPING AWAY AT THE BALLOTS
Today is the last day of November, 2016 and we're still counting votes from the November 8th election.  The deadline for the counting to be completed and the election certified is December 8th.  Below you will find results of interest to most Costa Mesans through this date, as of the 5:00 p.m. release by the Registrar of Voters.  They took another big bite out of the remaining votes, counting 8,830 ballots, and now there are only 18,798 ballots left to count.  You can see the complete results page for Orange County HERE.

COSTA MESA CITY COUNCIL
Sandy Genis continues to lead the way, with John Stephens 219 votes behind.  Allan Mansoor is 2,680 votes behind Stephens.  Mayor Steve Mensinger has lost ground and now trails Mansoor by 502 votes for the third seat.  Jay Humphrey continues to lose ground to Mensinger and now trails him by 176 votes.  Lee Ramos and Al Melone are far back.

COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT
Again, incumbents Jim Ferryman and Art Perry have solid leads on the rest of the field.  Gary Monahan trails Perry by 4,705 votes.  Jim Fitzpatrick and Christopher Luntsford trail the field.

MESA WATER DISTRICT
Incumbent Jim Fisler holds a commanding lead over challenger Alex Reich.

GROWTH MEASURES
Measure Y, the citizen-generated Smart Growth Initiative, is passing by more than a 2-1 margin.  Measure Z, the City-generated measure designed to confuse the voters is passing, but by a much smaller margin.

FAIRVIEW PARK MEASURES
Measure AA, the citizen-generated initiative designed to protect Fairview Park from development, continues to pass by a large, and growing, margin - well beyond 2-1.  Measure BB, the City-generated measure designed to fool voters, is failing.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ISSUES
The two citizen-generated initiatives, Measures V and W, are failing badly at the polls.  Measure X, the City-generated measure with no retail sales element, is passing.

VOTE-BY-DISTRICTS
This measure, hijacked by Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, which now has 6 voting districts AND a directly-elected mayor, is passing.

HOSTILE TAKEOVER OF CMSD BY MESA WATER
This meaningless advisory measure placed on the ballot by the Mesa Water Board is passing.

COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
All incumbents in these three races are holding their seats by wide margins over challengers.

NEWPORT MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
All incumbents in these three races are leading their challengers by wide margins.

74TH STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Matt Harper will defeat Karina Onofre

37TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT
John Moorlach will defeat Ari Grayson

48TH UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE
Dana Rohrabacher will defeat Dr. Suzanne Savary

WHAT'S LEFT TO COUNT?
Estimate of Ballots Left to Count - 18,798
Vote-by-Mail Ballots Left to Count - 92
Vote-by-mail Ballots Returned at the Polls Left to Count - 63
Provisionals Left to Count - 18,587
Election Day Paper Ballots Left to Count - 56
Eligible Vote-by-Mail Ballots Received After Election Day Left to Count - 0

ON TRACK TO FINISH ON TIME
With fewer than 19,000 votes remaining to be counted county-wide, it certainly appears the Registrar of Voters and his team will complete their task and finish counting and certify the election by December 8, 2016.  We'll continue to report each time there is a new result, usually just after 5:00 p.m. each evening.

Sober Living Marathon Scheduled For Monday

 A FULL NIGHT OF SOBER LIVING ISSUES MONDAY
The Costa Mesa Planning Department sent out a notice late yesterday with an advance alert to those of us interested in Sober Living Home issues.  Below is part of the text of that email, listing the agenda for the Planning Commission meeting on Monday, December 5, 2016. I'll probably write more on this later, but here's the text of the email I received for your planning purposes.  The meeting commences in City Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m. and looks like it might be a long one.  You may recall that Interim Development Services Director Jay Trevino alerted the commissioners to this busy schedule last Monday at the end of that meeting.

THE AGENDA ITEMS AS PRESENTED IN THE EMAIL

PA-16-04 at 2041 Tustin Avenue for a Conditional Use Permit, pursuant to Costa Mesa Municipal Code Section 13-323, to allow an all-male Sober Living Facility operated by Summit Coastal Living.  The facility will serve thirteen occupants, including a resident house manager, within three existing units.  This hearing was continued from the Commission meeting of Nov. 14, 2016.

PA-16-15 at 166 E. 18^th Street for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a Sober Living Facility serving 14 occupants within three units.  The application includes an appeal of the decision of the Economic and Development Services Director to deny a request for Reasonable Accommodation to allow this facility to be located within 650 feet of another property that contains a group home, sober living home or state licensed drug and alcohol treatment facility.  This hearing was continued from the Planning Commission meeting of November 14, 2016.

PA-16-25 at 2417 Orange Ave for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a Sober Living Facility serving 14 occupants within three units.  The application includes an appeal of the decision of the Economic and Development Services Director to deny a request for Reasonable Accommodation to allow this facility to be located within 650 feet of another property that contains a group home, sober living home or state licensed drug and alcohol treatment facility.  This hearing was continued from the Planning Commission meeting of November 14, 2016.

PA-16-34 and PA-16-35 at 171 Rochester St. & 175 Rochester St. for Conditional Use Permits to allow a state licensed drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility on contiguous sites serving 20 residents in four units; and an appeal of the decision of the Economic and Development Services Director to deny a request for Reasonable Accommodation to allow this sober living facility to be located within 650 feet of another property that contains a group home, sober living home or state licensed drug and alcohol treatment facility.

PA-16-37 and PA-16-38 at 125 E. Wilson St. & 131 E. Wilson St. for Conditional Use Permits to allow a state licensed alcohol and drug addiction treatment facility on contiguous parcels to serve 26 residents within six units; and an appeal of the decision of the Economic and Development Services Director to deny a request for Reasonable Accommodation to allow this sober living facility to be located within 650 feet of another property that contains a group home, sober living home or state licensed drug and alcohol treatment facility.

PA-16-39 and PA-16-40 at 235 and 241 E. 18^th Street for Conditional Use Permits to allow a state licensed alcohol and drug addiction treatment facility on contiguous properties serving 24 residents within six units; and an appeal of the decision of the Economic and Development Services Director to deny a request for Reasonable Accommodation to allow this sober living facility to be located within 650 feet of another property that contains a group home, sober living home or state licensed drug and alcohol treatment facility.

PA-16-06 at 200 Cabrillo for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a Sober Living Facility operated by Pacific Shores Recovery, LLC to serve 44 occupants, including a resident house manager, within four existing units.

Election Results as of 5:00 p.m., November 29, 2016

 LATEST NUMBERS HERE
The Orange County Registrar of Voters released new numbers in the local elections at 5:00 today.  The following images show you the new numbers for the local races.  There remain only 27,624  votes to be counted.  You can read all the Orange County race results at the ROV page, HERE.

COSTA MESA CITY COUNCIL
Sandy Genis holds a 219 vote lead over John Stephens.  Stephens holds a 2,690 vote lead over Allan Mansoor.  Mansoor holds a 496 vote lead over Mayor Steve Mensinger for the last seat on the council.  Jay Humphrey trails Mensinger by 131 votes.  Lee Ramos and Al Melone trail the field.

COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT
Incumbents Jim Ferryman and Art Perry hold commanding leads and will retain their seats.  Gary Monahan trails Perry by 4,752 votes and Jim Fitzpatrick and Christopher Luntsford trail the field.

MESA WATER DISTRICT
Incumbent Jim Fisler has a commanding lead over challenger Alex Reich.

GROWTH MEASURES
Measure Y, the citizen-generated Smart Growth Initiative, holds a more than 2-1 lead.  Measure Z, the City-generated issue designed to confuse the voters, is passing, but by a much smaller margin.

FAIRVIEW PARK MEASURES
Measure AA, the citizen-generated initiative designed to protect Fairview Park from development, is passing by an ever-growing margin - well beyond 2-1 and growing.  Measure BB, the City-generated measure designed to confuse voters, is failing at the polls.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ISSUES
Measures V and W, the two citizen-generated initiatives to authorize retail medical marijuana sales in the city, are both failing badly at the polls.  Measure X, the City-generated measure that ignores retail sales and authorized the manufacture, distribution, testing, etc., of Medical Marijuana in a small section in the north section of Costa Mesa, is passing.

VOTE-BY-DISTRICT
This issue, hijacked by Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, which creates 6 voter districts and ADDS a directly-elected mayor to the mix, is passing handily.

HOSTILE TAKEOVER OF CMSD BY MESA WATER DISTRICT
This insignificant, meaningless measure, placed on the ballot by the Mesa Water District Board to fool the voters into thinking that a takeover by Mesa Water of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District is a good idea, is passing.

COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
All incumbents in these three races hold commanding leads over their challengers.

NEWPORT MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
All incumbents in these three races are leading their challengers by significant margins.  Only Martha Fluor's lead over Amy Peters could be considered close, and there's a 1,661 margin in that one.

74TH STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Matt Harper continues to hold a commanding lead over Karina Onofre

37TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT
John Moorlach holds an insurmountable lead over Ari Grayson

48TH UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE
Dana Rohrabacher will defeat Dr. Suzanne Savary

WHAT'S LEFT TO COUNT?
Estimate of Ballots Left to Count - 27,624
Vote-by-Mail Ballots Left to Count -  92
Vote-by-Mail Ballots Returned at the Polls Left to Count - 274
Provisionals Left to Count - 27,202
Election Day Paper Ballots Left to Count - 56
Eligible Vote-by-Mail Ballots Received After Election Day Left to Count - 0

NEXT UPDATE TOMORROW EVENING
The next update to these numbers will be after 5:00 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, November 30, 2016.  Today they managed to knock out 10,295 ballots.  Neal Kelley will keep laying the whip to his hard-working crew and they will continue to count so they can certify the election by their deadline, December 8, 2016.

Reduced Planning Commission Agenda Got Shorter

SHORT MEETING - REDUCED AGENDA
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission held the most recent of their steady string of meetings last night, with two more planned for the next two consecutive Mondays.  This one turned out to be a short meeting.

SOBER LIVING APPEAL PUSHED OUT TO DECEMBER 12TH
The reason for the brevity is the fact that Item 4 was yanked from the agenda late last week and Public Hearing #1, an appeal of a denial for a Conditional Use Permit for sober living facilities on Victoria Street.  After a short discussion the commission decided, on a split vote, to continue this item to the meeting on December 12, 2016.  The vote to continue passed, 4-1, with Commissioner Stephan Andranian voting NO.

SMALL LOT DEVELOPMENT SENT BACK TO DRAWING BOARD
Public Hearing #2 is a Small Lot Development at 353 East 18th Street.  This is a design review for four units on a narrow - 60 feet - lot.  Although the project provides some interesting features, the commission eventually voted to deny the project without prejudice, 5-0,  so the applicant can return sooner than 6-months out with another cut at it.  The unusual solution to guest parking was the issue.  It can be appealed to the City Council.

SOBER LIVING SPECIAL USE PERMIT
Public Hearing #3 is the appeal of the denial of a Special Use Permit for a Sober Living Home at 2152 Raleigh Avenue.  This operator - 13 years in our city without a single complaint - has the misfortune to be an unlicensed facility that falls within the 650 feet of other state licensed facilities.  The operator, Greg Ohlhaver, is a native Costa Mesan who operates a successful business - Harbor Radiator -  in the city.  According to his testimony, he has helped hundreds of men with his affordable facility.  The costs seem to be about half of what it may cost at other facilities.  Of the half-dozen people who stepped up in support of the operator, a couple former residents of the facility cited their own personal successes and those of others.  According to the testimony, it would be very costly for him to get a State license, which would necessarily raise the cost to the residents. This facility seems to be exactly the kind of sober living facility the city says it wants, and yet a clear glitch in the system creates an unworkable situation.  The commission upheld the denial on a 5-0 vote.  One of the great ironies of this particular hearing was that exactly the same time, at the Neighborhood Community Center, several senior elected officials - Dana Rohrabacher, John Moorlach and Matt Harper - and a couple very high-priced lawyers were attempting to convince nearly 150 members of the public who attended their town hall that we needed to keep "the good operators" and discourage the "bad operators".  This decision by the commission just doesn't square with that goal.

APPROVING THE REVISED HOTEL AT 33250 AVENUE OF THE ARTS
Public Hearing #5, is an amendment to the previously approved Master Plan at 3350 Avenue of the Arts for the former Wyndham Hotel.  This change abandons the previously-planned condominiums, replacing them with all hotel rooms to perpetuate Costa Mesa's only 4-Star hotel.  The height of the project was reduced from 23 stories down to 15 stories.  According to the testimony of the operator, it will add about $1 million in additional Transient Occupancy Tax revenue to the City annually.  After the presentation by the applicant there were no members of the public left to address this issue.  Colin McCarthy whined about the lack of apparent interest in this project by the public.  The commission approved the project amendment, 5-0.

NEXT MEETING WILL BE A SOBER LIVING MARATHON
At the end of the meeting, at 8 p.m.,  Interim Development Services Director Jay Trevino advised the commission that their next meeting, on December 5th, would have a packed agenda - all sober living issues.  He said there were 11 group homes with 7 Public Hearings.  That is going to be one looooong night.  Bring a pillow if you plan to attend.

Dim Hope For Sober Living Home Invasion

 LOOKING FOR GOOD NEWS - DIDN'T GET IT
A group of elected officials and their surrogates plus a couple of lawyers spoke to more than 150 residents last night at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center on the subject of Sober Living Homes.  The news was not good.

GLOOM
This event, hosted by several legislators, the Association of California Cities - Orange County (ACC-OC) and the Orange County Association of Realtors (OCAR), offered a gloomy picture to those in attendance expecting to hear that the "solution" is just around the corner.  It's not.

FROM HEATHER TO TODD
Moderator Heather Stratman, CEO of ACC-OC, kicked off the evening by introducing Todd Leishman, a lawyer from the firm of Best, Best and Krieger.  He presented the audience with a brief primer on sober living, the local issues, legal challenges and local city ordinances.  He moved briskly through his presentation, which included an admonition to attendees.  He cautioned them to avoid saying things like, "I don't want them living next door to me." when addressing our city councils on this issue because that kind of statement could haunt the city later in court.  He told us, "Don't do anything stupid."  He spoke about the difference between licensed and non-licensed facilities, and how they must be treated differently by law.  You'll get the gist of his presentation by following along on these slides.

MUNOZ UP NEXT
Next up was lawyer Patrick Munoz, with the firm of Rutan and Tucker and the City Attorney for the City of Dana Point.  He also represents the City of Costa Mesa in their current sober living legal battles.  He spoke of the City of Newport Beach's problems attempting to manage sober living homes - an effort that eventually cost them more than $10 million.  He also talked of Dana Point's situation, mentioning that sober living is a BIG business, citing one facility in that city that charges $2,500 per month per bed.  He spoke of the nuisance factor - Red Bull, cigarettes and loud talking. He stressed the "care and supervision" element and mentioned that if you can sort out the bad actors from the good ones it's likely that the bad actors will go out of business.

PANEL OF "EXPERTS"
Next came the panel of legislators and their surrogates.  Seated on the dais were Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, State Senator John Moorlach, State Assemblyman Matthew Harper, former Huntington Beach councilman Joe Carchio representing Assemblyman Travis Allen and Leishman providing his views on Congressman Darrell Issa's pending bill.  Later Munoz and Diana Coronado of ACC-OC joined the group for the Question and Answer period.

DANA BLAMES BAD POLICIES
First up was Rohrabacher, who got everyone's attention when he contradicted almost everything the two lawyers had said earlier.  He said, "It's not about bad actors.  It's about drug addicts and alcoholics in our neighborhoods!"  He went on to describe this situation as a result of bad policies.  He said the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is bad policy. He said the Fair Housing laws are bad policy.  He said the Affordable Care Act is bad policy because it throws a lot of money at the issue.  Perhaps the best way to describe what he was aiming at is to repeat what he told Stacey Butler of CBS News in an interview shown on television later last night.  Rohrabacher said, "They're putting drug addicts and alcoholics right next door to ordinary families which, of course, hurts the values of their property.  But, also, there's some jeopardy that you're put into if you have children right next door to a bunch of drug addicts and alcoholics."  He wants to move sober living facilities into commercial and/or industrial areas.

BEMOANING MINORITY STATUS
Moorlach, after composing himself following the double-take he did as Rohrabacher spoke, bemoaned the fact that he is limited to only 20 bills per year and that both he and Harper are at a big disavantage as members of a minority party in the state legislature.

HARD DRUGS
Harper told anecdotes about neighbors and their problems with sober living homes nearby.  He also emphasized the limitations he has in the Assembly because the "other" party has a super-majority.  He spoke of the proliferation of hard drugs, well beyond Marijuana, expressing concern that kids today are becoming hooked on opiates.  He said, "Once they do that they're gone."  Not exactly what you expect to hear from a legislator discussing sober living homes.  He also spoke of  clustering of sober living homes; proximity to schools; the need to change state laws to permit cities to deal with their sober living issues, but agreed that some level of state oversight and regulation will be necessary. He pleaded for city's to propose legislation that he could push forward.  Funny, I thought that was HIS job.  He also cited the need for volunteers/citizen organizations to spread the word state-wide and put pressure on the governor and legislature.

CITIES NEED TO WORK TOGETHER
Carchio gave some history to previous efforts, citing his own city as just not doing enough.  He looked forward to Costa Mesa making progress, saying everyone is watching.  He said the cities need to work together to get a bill passed, acknowledging that it will be difficult because "there is a lot of money to be made."  Gee, no kidding!

40% OF CALIFORNIA SOBER LIVING HOMES ARE IN OC
Stratman told us the ACC-OC mission is to be a powerful regional voice on important issues, and mentioned that 40% of the sober living homes in California are located in Orange County.  Yikes!

Leishman spoke briefly about H.R. 6070, Congressman Issa's bill, indicating that is will likely have to be re-visited before it can pass.

MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS?
Then the panel began to respond to written questions from the audience.
The first question asked if mental health issues will be impacted by sober living homes.  Moorlach told us that Orange County has only 10 mental health beds for a county of 3.1 million people.

BACKGROUND CHECKS ON OWNER/OPERATORS?
Another asked about background checks for owners and operators of sober living homes.  Munoz said, "sometimes.", citing Costa Mesa litigation.

COSTA MESA ORDINANCE AND FAIR HOUSING LAWS
Another asked if Costa Mesa's ordinance violates Fair Housing laws?  Munoz, answering as an attorney retained by the City, said, "Absolutely not!", with a grin on his face.

HOW TO PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD?
Another person, apparently from an unincorporated part of the county, cited their tranquil enviornment and asked how they can discourage sober living homes in their area? Carchio said "build a wall."  Moorlach replied that they should contact the county.

HR6070?
Another question dealt with HR 6070 (Issa's bill) and how it would be implemented by the state.  Leishman said it's a federal bill, not a state bill.  Carchio rambled on about it being a problem for realtors.

WHAT ABOUT DISCLOSURE?
That was followed by a question of disclosure of the existence of sober living homes in the case of a home sale. That was interesting to watch, since nobody really had an answer.  Finally Munoz said, "Tell the truth.  The truth will set you free."  Leishman said if he were buying a home today he would ask every question he could about homes in the neighborhood - rentals, etc. - without actually asking about sober living homes.

SOBER LIVING HOMES AND HOMELESSNESS?
What turned out to be the final question asked about sober living homes and their contribution to homelessness.  Munoz observed it is a common complaint, but he didn't have any specific information.  Moorlach spoke of AB 109, Prop. 47 and the recently passed Prop 57, all of which changed the game regarding criminals being released back onto our streets sooner.  At that point Rohrabacher launched into an echo of his earlier rant, citing failed policies.  He ended by stating, "Expect very tough legislation early next year."  He was not specific, but it was red meat for those looking for some light at the end of the sober living tunnel.  It was almost like being at a Trump rally.

NOBODY HAS A HANDLE ON THIS!
I came away feeling that nobody really has a handle on the sober living industry - except those personally involved with it and making a LOT of money.  All I see ahead is many more lawsuits being generated by our attempts to enforce our two existing laws.  I found it ironic that as this meeting was going on the Costa Mesa Planning Commission was meeting to hear appeals of denials of permits from a couple such places.  I know they denied an appeal to a long-time operator - a local businessman who has operated a sober living home on the up-and-up for more than a dozen years.  More on that later.

WHERE WERE OUR LEADERS?
I must observe that the only city officials I saw in the crowd last night were not quite official - John Stephens and Allan Mansoor were in the room, but Mansoor bailed out early.  Stephens stayed to the bitter end, trying to soak in as much information as he could for the tasks ahead of him on the City Council.

WAS IT WORTH IT?
Was it worth attending this meeting?  Well, I guess so, because I really didn't expect to hear solutions presented.  From that standpoint I was not disappointed.  At one point I found myself looking at the men on the dais and thinking that Rohrabacher, Moorlach and Harper had just wrapped up successful re-elections based on the most recent numbers and yet they had nothing approaching a clue about how to manage this problem - and it IS a problem.  I see many more lawsuits facing our city before we get this figured out.