Pomona Grants Permit for Drug Treatment Facility

The City Council this week narrowly approved a conditional-use permit for an innovative drug treatment center that will allow women recovering from substance addiction to live with their children.

The rehabilitation center, to be operated at a converted school site, will house 20 women and about 30 children. The women will receive vocational training, while the children either are in day care at the center or attend local schools, said Dr. Vivian Brown of Prototypes, an Anaheim-based company that will operate the center.

“This program is not like any other in your community,” Brown said. “It is not a board-and-care program. It is not like any other drug-treatment program.”

On Feb. 10, the city’s Planning Commission had voted unanimously to deny a permit for the center, in part because Pomona was saturated with various residential care facilities.

Councilman Mark Nymeyer disputed the view that Pomona had become a “dumping ground” for such facilities and urged the council to “evaluate this program on its own merits.”

Councilwoman Nell Soto and Councilman C. L. (Clay) Bryant also voted for the permit.

Mayor Donna Smith and Councilman E. J. Gaulding voted against granting the permit. Smith said the area on East Arrow Highway near the center’s site is believed to be a center for drug trafficking and expressed concern that the rehabilitation center could exacerbate the problem.