In the city’s recent settlement agreement with Solid Landings, the rehab home operator was to close 15 of 33 facilities within 30 days of the settlement agreement date.

City Code Enforcement staff has verified that Solid Landings has closed (left the location/lease) and or sold these locations.

During the monitoring of these locations, code enforcement staff identified four new operations in Solid Landings previously leased locations.

These operators were noticed and cited for running facilities without City approvals.

They were required to terminate their operation within 30 days.

Three of the four facilities agreed to cease their operations and paid the fines.

Only one of the four contested their fines and in a recent citation appeal hearing, the City’s fine was upheld by a third party hearing officer.

The operator was found liable for the violation.

Code Enforcement staff will be following up with all these locations, which includes additional fines and possible civil action if these locations are not in compliance

The City of Costa Mesa reached a landmark settlement agreement with Solid Landings Inc. that will result in the immediate closure of 15 of the company’s residential sober living homes and the closure of 18 more over the next two to three years at the latest.

“This is a major victory both for the residents of Costa Mesa and city officials who worked diligently on this issue for several years,” said Mayor Steve Mensinger. “We have invested considerable resources in legal, law enforcement and code enforcement efforts to ensure a balance between our residents who deserve neighborhood peace and tranquility and those who seek facilities to battle their addiction problems.”

The agreement with Solid Landings, the largest group home operator in the city of Costa Mesa, will effectively end years of both federal and state litigation between the company and the city and will keep intact the city’s two groundbreaking ordinances that place appropriate restrictions on group homes, limiting the number of occupants and the proximity between similar homes.

By entering into the agreement, Solid Landings will ultimately close 33 residential facilities and no legal fees will be paid by the city. Further, Solid Landings will relocate its counseling facilities to two locations in the city, one in a commercial area and the other in an industrial location.

The settlement discussions began approximately a month ago when the City Council directed Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Righeimer to negotiate on behalf of the city.

The negotiations between Righeimer and Solid Landings resulted in an agreement reached Tuesday April 5 when the council voted 3-0 to accept the terms of the settlement.