By Margie Plunkett and Tim Pallesen
Beach area residents rallied in protest of planned luxury beachside sober houses in December, filling commission chambers at two meetings and spurring city leaders to scour law in search of changes that will protect residential neighborhoods.
Neighbors protested laws that allow houses in residential neighborhoods to be rented in such a way that dozens of unrelated people can reside there during the course of a year.
Residents argued that the safety and security of their neighborhoods were compromised by allowing sober houses — which they claimed is big business that’s contrary to residential use.
“We’re asking for support for preserving single-family neighborhoods,” said Mary Renaud, president of the Beach Property Owners’ Association.
The outcry was sparked when word leaked out that a Pennsylvania-based addiction treatment center had purchased a house at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. and been granted a city license to house up to seven people while they went through treatment.
Owners of beach side homes pored through a stack of city license records and determined that the treatment center, Caron Foundation, had applied for a second license for a beachside house.
While the application from West Palm Beach attorney James Green did not divulge the intended address, citing confidentiality issues, it did note that the house contained 7,481 square feet of living space.
Through other records, they learned that a six-bedroom, five-bath house at 1232 Seaspray Ave. was on the market for $2.995 million.
It has 7,481 square feet of living space. As of late December, the house was still on the market.
Andrew Rothermel, a spokesman for Caron, a nonprofit drug and alcohol abuse treatment agency with a center in Boca Raton, declined to comment on whether Caron had purchased the house at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. Asked if there were any other houses Caron was interested in, he said, “There may be one more.”
Rothermel added: “We’ve been good neighbors in Delray for 20 years,” noting Caron owns a 46-unit apartment building off Lowson Boulevard for clients who need more support.
“We have every intention of maintaining the character of the neighborhood and being good neighbors.”
Change sought requiring fewer annual tenants
Within a week of the initial Dec. 13 commission meeting where the BPOA and other neighbors first protested, the Planning and Zoning board recommended commissioners lower the number of times a home in a residential neighborhood can be rented to twice a year. That was stricter than both the three-times-a-year policy commissioners had asked the board to consider at its Dec. 19 meeting and current law, which allows for six rentals a year.
The number of rentals, however, is only the beginning of review of the complex issue, City Attorney Brian Schutte said, adding there’s much research to do.
Planning and Zoning Chairman Cary Glickstein acknowledged: “We’re not going to accomplish everything tonight. This is a step. We want to draw a line in the sand and build from that.”
Members of the Beach Property Owners’ Association plus others grew noticeably perturbed at the Dec. 13 meeting when told that an oceanside sober house had already been approved — but that the name and location of the property were protected by law and would not be revealed.
Another outcry went up when Mayor Woodie McDuffie said that if sober house properties are kept up, they won’t affect neighbors’ property values.
The mayor cut the public hearings short when the crowd’s emotions heated further.
Warned at both meetings against making remarks that could be discriminatory when directed at “sober” or “halfway” houses, residents said they are against “transient” housing in all uses in residential districts, not just those that may be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Fair Housing Amendment.
Treatment centers have successfully argued in federal court that cities cannot discriminate against people with alcohol or drug addictions. In addition, locations of sober houses do not have to be disclosed by the health care provider because the addresses of people in treatment are part of their medical records, and thus, confidential.
Complex ordinance requires careful review
During the commission meeting, former Commissioner Gary Eliopoulos said that in July 2009 he and other city lawmakers had changed regulations, addressing the number of rentals as well as limiting the number of unrelated adults living in a house to three.
Eliopoulos said there are instances in which the law has been interpreted to mean that each bed or room in a house can be rented six times a year.
“I’m urging this commission to go back and look at that ordinance,” he said. “If we got it wrong, I would urge you to get outside counsel and get it right. There’s no reason we have to tolerate this.”
McDuffie later in the meeting discussed “not rushing it” in reviewing the complex ordinances. He also noted that it could cost the city to boost enforcement to make sure transient housing is following code.
“This is going to send a clear signal that transient housing is going to be scrutinized,” he said.
Heeding those words, the city is planning to hire recently retired Police Lt. Marc Woods to help with license compliance and educating owners of transient housing throughout the city.
McDuffie later sent a letter to members of the local legislative delegation, urging the state to step in to license and regulate the substance-abuse treatment industry.
“We need your help on this issue more than anything else I have confronted since taking office,” McDuffie wrote.
“Our Village by the Sea receives rave reviews for the beach, Atlantic Avenue, our events and how well it is run, but we have another name that is not so complimentary: The Drug Rehab Capital of the United States.”
During the Planning and Zoning board meeting, Director Paul Dorling said that housing owners come before his office to ask for “reasonable accommodation” to allow more residents than the law permits. He did not recall denying any of the dozens of requests for sober houses throughout the city.
Concern about ‘strangers’ and employee parking
Resident Bill McCauley said he had been good friends with the owner of the home at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. that apparently was purchased by attorney Michael Weiner for the Caron Foundation.
“Rick was a great neighbor,” McCauley said, noting he died last year of cancer. Caron plans 48 or more different tenants each year, McCauley said. “How can I have a neighborhood relationship with 48 different strangers?”
Heidi Sargeant said she is a next door neighbor, has three children and is vehemently opposed to transient housing. She said it has the potential to be unsafe, adding, “Where are we going to put the eight cars?”
The house will have a chef and a masseuse, she said, adding, “Where are these people parking? I’m concerned about the value of our homes. Do you want that next to you? I don’t think so.”
The possibility of a lawsuit blanketed discussion at both government meetings, from note of previous Boca Raton litigation that has guided Delray Beach policy over concerns of potential suits from neighbors or sober home operators.
In that vein, attorney Weiner brought a court reporter and videographer to record the Dec. 19 Planning and Zoning meeting.
Residents urged officials not to be swayed by the threat of a lawsuit.
“There are going to be lawsuits no matter what,” said resident and lawyer Scott Richman, explaining that the board’s actions shouldn’t be formulated merely to avoid a suit. “First thing: You need to protect the citizens.”
Resident Martin Fields suggested that Planning and Zoning not move too quickly and that the city should hire “excellent” outside counsel. “If you’re going to do something, do it right and fairly,” he said.
Warned Caron’s Rothermel: Other cities have lost lawsuits when they opposed similar requests for sober houses in residential neighborhoods.
“They suffered in court and spent a tremendous amount of money fighting it.”
