Feel free to contact them. TBON is not affiliated with the CM PRESS and we don't personally know any of the people who seem to be behind TBON, but the group home issue is one that is becoming an issue in every Costa Mesa neighborhood, so we wanted to make this information easy for our readers to see and to take action on.
TBON Costa Mesa
Take Back Our Neighborhoods
Mission Statement:
The purpose of TBON Costa Mesa is to educate homeowners as to
what is going on in our Costa Mesa neighborhoods. Our goal is to develop awareness and
pro-activity to protect our neighborhoods from being overtaken and negatively impacted
by ill-run, unmonitored, unlicensed group
residential properties (GRPs). GRPs include
recovery houses, transitional living facilities, fraternities, boarding rooms, party/drug
houses, and parolee/halfway houses.
We are quickly
becoming Southern California's ground zero for group residential properties,
and very little is being done about it.
The majority of group homes in our neighborhoods, and throughout the
state of California, are unlicensed, unregulated, and not overseen by
county/state health officials. This is a
huge health and safety issue for those in recovery.
What residents throughout the City of Costa Mesa disapprove
of is what many GRPs bring with them.
We, the homeowners, have the legal right to live in a safe and peaceful
neighborhood free of drugs, discarded drug paraphernalia, empty liquor bottles
in yards, noise at all hours, increased and ongoing auto and pedestrian
traffic, excessive smoke from cigarettes, trash, frequent use of profanity,
threats, and harassments. Many homeowners
living next to or nearby a GRP claim this is what is happening to them on a
regular basis.
By nature,
neighborhoods are extensions of family; we look after each other, we support
each other, and we work together to keep our neighborhood safe and
harmonious. However, many families feel
that GRP owners and their house occupants show little regard for community
safety, harmony, nor concern for the well-being of the neighborhood. When one nuisance
GRP is thrown into the mix, it changes and disrupts that neighborhood
chemistry. The right to live in a safe and harmonious residential neighborhood
needs be restored to the people who have worked hard to purchase and maintain a
home for their family.
TBON Costa
Mesa would very much like to hear your personal stories regarding your
experiences with GRPs and how they have negatively impacted your
neighborhood. Please contact us @ tboncostamesa@hotmail.com.
Steps to Take Back Your Neighborhood (TBON)
·
Be proactive!
You are going to have to get your neighborhood up in arms. Educate your neighbors (even if you don't
like them) as to what is going on in our city of Costa Mesa.
·
Call and advise the City Hall Code
Enforcement Officer, Mike Tucker @ 714 599-4549 and the Costa Mesa Police (call the non-emergency number @ 714 754 5252) of
any group residential properties in your neighborhood!!!! Chances are these GRPs do not have a license or permit to
operate, and the City of Costa Mesa is unaware of their existence. In
order for the GRPs to be accounted for, the City of Costa Mesa needs their
address. Please give the information to Mike Tucker (mentioned above) as soon
as possible. Please keep us informed too
so that we may add the address(s) to our list.
·
Watch your neighborhood's GRPs on an
ongoing basis. City law states that GHPs in residential
neighborhoods cannot have more than 6
rehab occupants in an "unlicensed" facility at a time. It is common practice for GRPs to sneak in additional occupants…and even
bring in a trailer(s) onto or nearby the property to house additional occupants
(it is a money-making business).
Maintain an ongoing journal of GRP incidents (e.g.,
excessive noise, screaming/yelling, use of excessive profanity, lights coming
into your windows, large number of people going in and out of the house,
parking issues, excessive smoking, foul orders, found paraphernalia and/or
trash, threats, anything that affects your safety and well-being, etc.). If any of these behaviors/incidences occur, immediately
call your complaints into Mike Tucker and the Costa Mesa Police Department
(no matter what time of the day or evening it is). If it is an emergency situation, call 911. Taking action and holding nuisance GRPs
accountable is a must!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Follow your complaint up in writing and send it by certified mail to both Mike Tucker, C.M.
Code Enforcer, and our Mayor, Jim Righeimer, at City Hall otherwise there will
be nothing on record to show you did indeed file a complaint. Costa Mesa City Hall is located at 77
Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626.
·
Inquire with the City of Costa Mesa
Public Records Department as to any given City of Costa Mesa visitations,
citations, and/or arrests that may have been made at the GRPs in your
neighborhood. You can pick up the "Public Records Request" (see attachment) form from the
City Clerk's Office on the 1st floor or fill one out on the City's website. Also ask to see if reports on any sex
offenders, parolees, and individuals on probation who reside at the group
residential property. This documentation
is really important for you to maintain for your records.
·
Establish a Neighborhood Watch.
You can do so by calling Kelly
Vucinic, Crime Prevention Specialist, at 714 754-4876 or email her at kvucinic@costamesaca.gov.
Officer Vucinic will provide you with valuable information on how to help your
neighborhood stay safe. TBON can also
attend this meeting and provide your neighbors with additional information on
GRPs.
·
Establish a neighborhood phone
directory!!!! This is really crucial! In the event of a GRP
disturbance/nuisance, call for
witnesses. Keep a detailed record of the event, and call the police @ 714 754 5252 to file a report to put on record.
·
Should you find drug or alcohol drug
paraphernalia, take pictures, and do not touch or remove. Again, call
the police immediately. The
police may be able to take fingerprints and or collect DNA.
·
Meet with neighbors regularly to
share documented disturbances, strange observations, etc.
When possible, use a camera to document problems coming from your
neighborhood's GRP. Also record noises, yelling, threats, inappropriate discussions, etc. Smart
phones are great to use for recording, picture taking, and videotaping.
·
Educate yourself with Costa Mesa's
laws and ordinances. Attend City Council meetings as often as possible!!! Ask questions and seek answers regarding your
experiences and concerns.
·
Call/write/email our Costa Mesa Mayor
and City Council Members regarding your concerns and/or experiences with GRPs.
This should be done each time an
incident occurs. Keep a record of your contacts with City of Costa Mesa
officials. TBON Costa Mesa would also
like to be notified of any instances you encountered for our records as well.
·
Call/write your local newspapers,
popular radio and TV stations. Let them know what is
happening in your neighborhood. Please refrain from using discriminatory
language when you write or talk to anyone; just report on the facts.
·
If you fear for your safety and/or
the safety of others, setting up outdoor security cameras on your house is a
great idea. However, be sure to post a sign that
indicates "visual recording is taking place" so that the taping any
wrongdoings can be used as legal evidence in court. Home security cameras are also nice for
watching over your home while you are away…it's a great deterrent and worthwhile
investment. They can be purchased online
and easily set up on your home. Try to
go wireless, if possible (sometimes camera lines are cut). Motion detector lights are another great
safety item to have on your home and they are fairly easy to install. Lastly, adopt a dog (or 2) from the animal
shelter.
·
If problems persist, write a letter
to the GRP owner and their house manager. This document is necessary to show
from a legal standpoint, you have done what is necessary to communicate and
resolve issues at hand. When writing
your letter, be as specific as you can regarding your concerns and
observations. In many instances, your concerns
will be resolved without taking legal action.
However, if your neighborhood's GRP or PH refuses to cooperate and
continues to be an ongoing nuisance, then it's time to take the next step and
serve them with a Cease and Desist (see attached sample form, pg.10). You will need to change the wording to
represent your individual complaints.
There are many sample Cease and Desist forms available on the internet
for you to view and assist in forming your own.
There are also online legal services that will help you compose your own
paperwork properly without breaking the bank.
If troubles continue, you now have a greater chance of going forward and
suing the GRP as a "nuisance
property" to you and your neighborhood. A word
of caution: most GRPs will argue they are being discriminated against. If a
GRP or PH changes the quality, character, and harmony of your neighborhood,
where threats or damages are made, and safety is an issue…you have the legal right
to fight to have the GRP cited by the City of Costa Mesa, or even possibly closed
down.
No
one is discriminating against group home/residential properties...we
only want the laws of our City, State, and Federal Government to be upheld and
carried out. The City of Costa Mesa and its residents need to take
appropriate actions to ensure all nuisance GRPs are held accountable under existing
laws so that our family neighborhoods remain safe and harmonious.
Keep family neighborhoods
safe by following the above steps, and please share this with your neighbors!
| # # | |
Video (2:47 min.) and photos of victim and the arrestees.
# # #
INDIA: NEW ULTRANATIONALIST HINDU PRIME MINISTER-ELECT TELLS MUSLIMS THEY BETTER HAVE THEIR BAGS PACKED
Hindu ultranationalists win outright majority victory in elections.
# # #
COSTA MESA CRIME MAP STILL NOT WORKING
Over on your right you'll see the link to the Costa Mesa Crime Map. This has been down for more than a month.
Maybe what the City needs to do is throw out another 400 or so perfectly good computers and monitors and buy all new ones (as it recently did) and hire even more executives for the 5th Floor of City Hall. In fact, maybe it's time to expand the 5th Floor to house all the executives.
Folks, we at the CM PRESS like small, less intrusive government, but what we're seeing too much of in Costa Mesa's municipal government is that the people who actually make life better for Costa Mesans--the pick and shovel people and others who actually work with their hands--are being reduced in numbers while the executive ranks are swelling.
Yes, we think some outsourcing makes sense. And, while we'd prefer to see those who fix our streets, and do other such work, actually work for the city and actually live in Costa Mesa, we also believe that they have to be price competitive with private sector people who are willing to do the same jobs for less. As citizens and taxpayers of Costa Mesa we should expect our local government to comparison shop for goods and services just as most of us do in our private lives. However, we're really getting concerned with the increase in the number of executives--who will have to justify their employment by coming up with even more government waste and busy work.
This reminds me a little of what's going on in Costa Mesa's city hall: too many Chiefs and too few Indians.
# # #
Two more stupid dead White females who made a fatal mistake in picking a friend.
Play the odds in life, folks. Don't become the next victim. Think.
# # #
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