Council OKs Hotel’s Use as Rehab Center
Plans to open a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in the historic Hotel California apartment building are moving forward after the City Council voted unanimously this week to back the project.
Although some residents complained at Tuesday night’s hearing that a rehabilitation center could increase crime and decrease property values in their neighborhood, council members decided it was an appropriate use for the building at 1316 S. Coast Highway.
The 28-bed center, owned by Laguna Beach resident Christopher C. Spencer, will be a place where people fighting drug and alcohol addiction can temporarily live and be treated after a hospital stay. Most residents will stay 30 to 90 days, although some may stay for a year. They must pay for rent and therapy sessions and observe the rules of the center, including an 11 p.m. curfew.
Spencer, who also owns Spencer Recovery Centers Inc. in Monrovia, said his centers offer people in recovery a less expensive alternative to hospitals. Primary treatment will cost $3,700 monthly, and extended care costs less, he said.
Planning commissioners granted Spencer a conditional-use permit in January, but resident Steven Kothlow appealed to the City Council. Kothlow said he had signatures from more than 100 neighbors and business people who opposed the project.
But most who spoke at the meeting backed the center, which one speaker said would provide a “desperately needed service.”
Spencer said he hopes to open the center by summer.
--BY LESLIE EARNEST AND BONNIE HAYES
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