City to Ban Medical Detox at Facility

Laguna Beach officials said Wednesday that they will require the owner of a beachfront drug and alcohol recovery center to stop offering medical detoxification there.

Christopher C. Spencer, owner of Spencer Recovery Center at 1316 S. Coast Highway, admitted violating the permit he received in March 1997 to open his center. But he said that his institution is licensed by the state to give medical assistance to drug addicts and alcoholics in the initial stage of recovery and that he was unaware he had to meet separate city standards.

“I changed our treatment policy today,” Spencer said Wednesday morning. He is now contracting with Chapman Medical Center in Orange, he said, “to handle all of our detox patients.”

Spencer shocked officials at Tuesday’s City Council session when he revealed that he was operating the recovery center like a full-fledged hospital, including dispensing medication.

City Atty. Philip Kohn said Spencer is not permitted to perform any type of medical detox on-site. He said he and council members will draft a resolution stating that.

But Spencer said that could put him out of business. “I may as well shut my doors and donate this building to the Salvation Army,” he said.

Spencer, who also operates recovery centers in Monrovia, Arcadia, Anaheim, Covina and Silverlake, had requested permission from the city to upgrade his use permit so that he could turn the Laguna Beach facility into a hospital similar to the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage.

The Planning Commission had approved Spencer’s request in November, but Councilwoman Toni Iseman appealed the decision, saying such a use would be inappropriate for the neighborhood.