POMONA COMMISSION DENIES PERMIT FOR DRUG-TREATMENT CENTER

Organization's President Says He Is Surprised That Panel Went Against
City Staff's Recommendation.

POMONA -- A nonprofit group might still attempt to open an outpatient
substance abuse treatment center in the city despite a Planning
Commission decision to deny the group's request for a West Mission
Boulevard address.

"The thought was there's plenty of these facilities in the city,"
planning commissioner Ric Belluscio said. "We're trying to upgrade
our image, upgrade commercial retail to make it appealing to the city
and the public."

But Leke Oyelade, the president of California Recovery Clinics Inc.,
said providing quality treatment would help the city improve its
image. "Pomona has its own share of drug problems," Oyelade said. "It
becomes a community headache when they are incarcerated, where they
become career criminals. You treat people who are already in trouble
before they can get into more, you help the entire community."

Oyelade's group wanted to provide a drug and alcohol treatment
service out of part of an office at 1652 W. Mission Blvd. That's near
the county's Probation Department, a school for juveniles on
probation and a development center for workers.

The plan was to focus on adults in recovery who were referred to the
program through the Los Angeles County courts and probation. The
outpatient treatment would last 30 to 60 days, depending on the needs
of the client, Oyelade said.

The group began working on the project about a year ago, before
voters approved Proposition 36 in November. That measure calls for
court-supervised drug treatment services for nonviolent drug
offenders convicted of possession or being under the influence.
Instead of going to jail, they'd go to treatment programs within
their communities.

Drug treatment centers are key to the implementation of Proposition
36, with agencies realizing more will be needed, but just how many is
not yet clear. Since the measure went into effect July 1, 800 cases
have been referred from the courts, said Lydia Becerra, a spokeswoman
for the Los Angeles County Alcohol and Drug Program Administration.

"It's really a guessing game," Becerra said. "The bulk of our need
will be in outpatient services. The trick is to make sure we're going
to have enough money to make reimbursements to those providers giving
the services."

The county contracts with 300 agencies for treatment, prevention and
recovery services, she said.

Oyelade, who works as an environmental health specialist for Los
Angeles County, said the Mission Boulevard site was chosen in part
because of its proximity to other agencies that would refer clients,
and because it was a location clients could easily reach.

But to open there, the nonprofit needed a determination from Pomona's
planning staff that it was similar to other services in the area and
would not have a negative impact on the neighborhood. The clinic
wanted to be declared similar to an educational facility. Permits for
educational and drug treatment facilities in that zone are reviewed
on a case-by-case basis.

The city's planning staff recommended that the center receive a
permit to operate at the address the organization wanted. The area is
zoned C-4 Highway Commercial, the most inclusive commercial land-use
district, according to a staff report. Its proposed services are
similar to that provided by educational facilities, such as those at
the nearby county-run school for juveniles on probation, the report
states. Both attract similar clients and traffic.

But Belluscio said he and other planning commissioners "respectfully
disagreed" with that position, which they viewed as "a bit of a
stretch," he said. Commissioners also feared that granting the clinic
a permit would pave the way for similar programs to find ways around
rules and set up in areas where commissioners would rather they not.

"We've already by code designated what uses can go into every zone,"
Belluscio said. "We didn't want to change the rules for everybody.
They have to find a zone that fits what they want to do."

In June, planning commissioners did approve a similar proposal, when
it determined that a training center for clients with mental illness
could be allowed to operate in an area zoned C-2, for neighborhood
and shopping. That facility also compared itself with an educational
facility in its bid to obtain a permit.

If the California Recovery Clinics Inc. found a site in a location
zoned M-1, which is more an industrial designation, it could open up
without approval from the Planning Commission, Belluscio said.

Oyelade said the group had already found a site that worked, based on
a lot of guidance from city staff.

"The city told me what to look for. That's exactly what we did," he
said. "The attitude [commissioners] put forward was very
discouraging. We put many months into this, with a lot of help from
staff, and [commissioners] turned it down after their own staff
approved it."

Still, Oyelade said the group might look for another location,
because the service is needed.

"It's a very prime area. I hope they don't turn us down the second
time around," he said.