Darrell Issa
The mayor of San Juan Capistrano, California, became the third government official to support legislation that U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) introduced to allow local oversight of sober living facilities.
The Safe Recovery and Community Empowerment Act, H.R. 6070, would amend the Fair Housing Act to clarify that city or state governments have authority to enforce zoning ordinances and regulations that limit the number of sober living homes in particular neighborhoods.
The bill would establish requirements that owners and operators of residential recovery facilities obtain a license to operate, and would also set consumer protection standards for facilities that receive government funding.
“Cities and local government have had their hands tied in dealing with sober living facilities, so I’m glad to have worked together to introduce this necessary update to the law,” Issa said. “In many ways, the biggest issue I hear about day-to-day from constituents is the rapid growth of poorly run sober living facilities that are helping neither those in recovery nor the communities they are supposed to serve.”
During recent town hall meetings hosted by Issa in Oceanside and San Clemente, California, he heard concerns from hundreds of residents about the proliferation of sober living facilities in their communities.
“This simple update will help ensure local governments have the tools they need to solve these problems and ensure these faculties are working for everyone,” Issa said. “I’m proud to have the support of San Juan Capistrano and look forward to advancing our solution when Congress reconvenes this fall.”
In voicing support for the measure on Tuesday, San Juan Capistrano Mayor Pam Patterson wrote that the challenges stemming from noncompliant residential recovery facilities “are a strain law enforcement resources, represent legitimate public safety threats to the community, and negatively affect the patients receiving treatment.”