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LA Times - Recovery center worries residents near school <br />Page 2 of 5 <br />"71-9 only time we find out [about,aOS.�i -1 vi Claus L] s when someone calls," Larson <br />to..::hose at the meeting. J211 <br />In a circulated letter, parents claimed that recovery center patients have harassed and <br />stalked young girls, littered streets with cigarette butts and created parking problems. <br />One man said he found a package containing methadone on his doorstep. <br />The comments echoed concerns raised last year about short-term renters, those renting a <br />house or portion of a home for less than 3o days at a time. Complaints were that certain <br />renters were wreaking havoc. <br />Christine Fugate, a mother of two, said Laguna has become "the riviera rehab" and <br />worried about recovery center operators moving into properties once they go on the <br />market, like the house for rent next to her home. <br />"I don't want this to happen and happen," Fugate said, adding that "no one here is <br />against treatment for alcohol or drug addiction." <br />Pillars Recovery operates the Top of the World property, a recovery center, and has <br />another location in Corona del Mar. Staff conducts thorough psychiatric screenings of <br />prospective patients, and once admitted, residents attend group therapy sessions, <br />operators say. <br />"No clients go outside without supervision," Pillars clinician Linda Friedman told the <br />gathering. "I'm a parent like you guys. I'm trying to help people. I don't want pedophiles <br />in here." <br />Parents, and Conlon, said rehabilitation centers should not be located too close to <br />schools. <br />"It's definitely a concern," said the principal, who said no crimes have been linked to the <br />Pillars facility. "If I had my way, I would not want it as close as it is" to the school. <br />Monarch Shores operates a property on Skyline Drive. No representative of the company <br />attended the meeting. <br />One resident asked Friedman if she would accept a registered sex offender into a <br />treatment program if she knew of the person's background. <br />"No, that is not someone I would accept," Friedman said. "If I feel someone can't get the <br />best care, I recommend treatment in another facility," <br />No state law requires operators of licensed treatment facilities to deny services to <br />registered sex offenders, Carol Sloan, California Department of Health Care Services <br />spokeswoman, wrote in an email. <br />http://touch.latimes.com/ 2/10/2016 <br />