Complaints Lead Santa Monica Officials To Unpermitted Sober Living Home With 30 Occupants

SANTA MONICA, CA — Neighbors’ complaints about a Santa Monica building site led city officials to the discovery of an unpermitted sober living home with about 30 occupants, the mayor says.

Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete told FOX 11 News she visited the site after seeing photos and videos of 10 or more people being unloaded from a van.

"I was completely shocked,” Negrete told the TV station. “I had to see it for myself.”

While she was at the site, “No one could tell me the name of the facility or who was running it," she told FOX 11.

City staff on Friday inspected the building at 413 Ocean Avenue, about 2 miles from the pier, after getting complaints from neighbors, Negrete said in a video posted on Instagram.

During a walkthrough of the building, Negrete said staff found that it “was not in good shape, not ready to serve as a residential site.”

“Staff identified numerous issues supporting the city's original notice to vacate, and onsite staff said they were unaware that they were operating in an unpermitted facility,” according to Negrete.

While some residents from the building had been relocated to Sherman Oaks per the city’s directive, about 30 were still living on-site, Negrete said.

On-site staff told city officials the building housed a sober living program, according to Negrete.

“The operator's plan, according to their staff, was to place two people per room, which is roughly 58 people in total,” she said.

The city found the operation was under multiple legal entities, according to Negrete.

Negrete said the city planned on Monday to reach out to all parties, including the property owner, developer, operator and staff, “outlining required compliance with the notice to vacate, relocation regulations, updated administrative citations and the need to fully identify the proposed use, obtain proper permits, cease operations until approved and meet all safety and licensing standards.”

"People deserve dignity, stability, and real oversight," Negrete said in her post. "Policy reforms are already in motion to prevent this from happening again."

Negrete said she would share additional information as it becomes available.