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Costa Mesa supports Newport in sober-living case

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Five Southern California cities, including three in Orange County, have filed supportive legal documents toward the goal of having the U.S. Supreme Court review Newport Beach’s sober-living homes ordinance.

Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, San Clemente, Claremont and Bradbury have submitted an amicus curiae brief, or “friend of the court,” in City of Newport Beach vs. Pacific Shores Properties.

Newport’s case seeks to defend the city’s 2008 ordinance that placed new restrictions on the rehabilitation homes.

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Newport’s city manager, Dave Kiff, told Costa Mesa’s city CEO in May that the likelihood of the Supreme Court taking up the case was 20% to 25%, though the amicus brief can help maximize those chances.

“[Briefs] carry a lot of weight with the court, and are especially valuable in demonstrating that an issue presented for review transcends the parties to the case,” Kiff wrote in a May 6 email to Costa Mesa CEO Tom Hatch.

Newport’s years-long lawsuit stems from allegations that the ordinance was discriminatory. Federal protections grant recovering addicts status as a protected class, though many neighbors have complained of negative effects surrounding the homes, such as noise, cigarette smoke and a transient population.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found the ordinance unconstitutional last year.

According to the amicus curiae brief summary, “The Ninth Circuit’s decision overturns decades of deference to local land-use decisions that are facially-neutral and are supported by findings that evidence a rational basis for the regulation ... the Ninth Circuit applies a level of scrutiny reserved for racial discrimination, fundamental rights and suspect classifications to land use decisions involving sober living facilities.

“This heightened standard of review thwarts a city’s ability to adopt and enforce ordinances aimed at protecting public health, safety and welfare ... . “

Newport has also hired Theodore Olson, a former U.S. solicitor general, to help in the case. Olson’s credits include Bush vs. Gore and Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission.

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