Drug Treatment Foundation Drops Bid to Expand Residences

In the face of mounting community opposition, one of Los Angeles County’s largest providers of substance abuse services has dropped its bid to expand treatment operations in a historic Long Beach neighborhood.

The Substance Abuse Foundation of Long Beach has withdrawn its appeal of a Planning Commission decision denying the nonprofit organization permission to increase client occupancy.

The foundation, which treats about 2,000 people a year, originally sought to unify 17 properties into a treatment campus in Rose Park, an older area known for its turn-of-the-century bungalows and Spanish-style homes.

As neighborhood opposition mounted, the foundation scaled back its plans and sought only to increase the occupancy of six residential facilities beyond the legal limit of six people per unit.

The Planning Commission turned down the request in April and the Long Beach City Council was scheduled to hear the foundation’s appeal Tuesday night. But the organization’s president, Ronald H. Banner, sent a letter to the city Monday requesting that the matter be removed from the agenda.

“It was unlikely that the foundation would have prevailed,” said Vice Mayor Dan Baker, whose council district includes Rose Park. “Banner was fighting a Planning Commission decision and there was a large amount of neighborhood opposition.”

Banner could not be reached for comment Tuesday. In his letter to the city, he called the withdrawal of the appeal a “goodwill gesture” and wrote that the foundation intends to work with the city in “a more proactive and less rancorous manner.”

City officials said Banner’s foundation has agreed to comply with the Municipal Code, which includes reducing the number of residents in three of its buildings and disbanding a communal kitchen. They plan to inspect the facilities later this month to see if he is providing counseling and social services in violation of zoning restrictions.

Although Banner has dropped his appeal, he is considering relocating some of the facilities to Villages of Cabrillo, a former Navy property in west Long Beach. The village now hosts social services for veterans and the homeless.

“We will be watching very closely to see whether the zoning violations are eliminated,” said Bry Myown, a board member of the Rose Park Neighborhood Assn., which opposed Banner’s expansion plans. “We are grateful that Banner is looking for more appropriate land.”

The controversy began almost 10 years ago. While efforts got underway to rehabilitate Rose Park’s old homes, neighbors noticed that Banner was buying up property to expand his operations. He eventually acquired 20 homes, apartments and commercial structures, virtually all in the same block.

Residents accused Banner of attempting to create a large treatment campus in a neighborhood not zoned for institutional uses. Banner said his facilities were well-run, contributed to the community and provided much-needed treatment services to substance abusers.

Public opposition steadily increased after Banner sought a zoning change in December 1998 to create a single campus. Finally, on April 20, planning commissioners rejected a revised plan by Banner.