Cities to Find It Tougher to Limit Drug Rehab Centers : Ruling: Supreme Court prevents use of zoning laws to deny permits for group homes. The decision disappoints officials in Costa Mesa, site of many halfway houses.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling may deliver a hard blow to the city’s efforts to limit the number of drug- and alcohol-rehabilitation centers.

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The ruling prevents cities from using zoning laws to deny operating permits to group homes, and has forced the City Council to give Nancy Clark a second chance at getting a license for the Recovery Center, which would be at 1110 Victoria St.

Clark, executive director of the center, was denied a permit to operate last month.

But residents and city officials are concerned about the court’s ruling.

Residents have complained that Costa Mesa has become Orange County’s dumping ground for drug recovery programs and have blamed the city’s growing problems of crime and homelessness on the many halfway houses and rehabilitation centers.

The council responded to residents’ complaints by attempting to limit new centers and by encouraging other cities to share the responsibility of opening such facilities.

Mayor Joe Erickson said those efforts may have been wiped away by the Supreme Court.

“I am concerned that a lot of [these] decisions take control away from local communities,” said Erickson.

When Clark was denied a permit in May, many residents who fought to rid the city of its drug centers thought that the battle was over and they had won. Now, many fear the door may be wide open for programs such as Clark’s to operate in the city.

Chuck Robertson, president of the Mesa Verde Homeowners Assn., said he was surprised that the City Council is going to give Clark a second chance at opening a rehabilitation center.

Robertson added that reopening Clark’s application has intensified fears that Costa Mesa is becoming a haven for drug addicts and alcoholics.

City officials said they have reviewed the court’s ruling and have determined that they will have to take extra precautions when considering applications for rehabilitation centers.

Councilwoman Sandra L. Genis, who voted against the rehabilitation center in May, was among those council members who decided this week to take a second look at the application because of the ruling. She said the city may find ways to work around the court ruling to deny centers licenses.

“We still can look at whether they are running a business in a residential area,” she said. Genis added that finding ways to control the number of such centers in Costa Mesa is already a difficult task and the new decision will only make it harder.

Costa Mesa’s City Council will reconsider Clark’s application July 5. Newport Beach city officials said they are studying the same court ruling to determine if they will be forced to make changes.

Residents in the Balboa Peninsula are trying to fight off a drug-rehabilitation facility. Residents there cite many of the same concerns as residents in Costa Mesa.

Newport Beach City Manager Kevin J. Murphy said a city attorney’s analysis of the court ruling will be discussed next week with the City Council.