Mohave Today

Tempe is exploring the development of several new tools aimed at addressing unlawful sober living homes in the city to reduce victimization and protect neighborhoods.

State investigations into unlawful sober living homes have raised significant concerns regarding the health, safety and well-being of both vulnerable residents and the broader Tempe community. Through a multi-department task force convened in June 2023, Tempe has been actively working to assist state authorities, enforce all city codes and ordinances and help residents who have been victimized, including Native Americans and unsheltered people struggling with addiction.

The Tempe City Council, at its Jan. 11 meeting, approved the exploration of several task force recommendations, including the creation of a general business license and ordinance to address excessive calls for service.

“It’s imperative that we protect the most vulnerable in our community and ensure the health and safety of our neighborhoods. We must continue this important work and look at all potential tools that can help,” said Mayor Corey Woods. “We remain committed to supporting lawful sober living homes that operate responsibly and meet the needs of our residents.”

The taskforce recommendations include:

• Creating a general business license in the city, similar to other municipalities, to streamline the process for businesses to operate legally, enhance oversight and regulation and improve communications with businesses. The City of Surprise implemented this tool and has seen a drop in the number of fraudulent sober living providers.
• Developing a new system to track problem properties and enhance the work of code enforcement and law enforcement. Moving quickly to identify and resolve problems will contribute to the overall improvement of the city's neighborhoods.
• Creating a new ordinance that addresses excessive calls for service at commercial properties. Operators providing unlicensed services or engaged in fraudulent billing are understood to generate more calls for service from law enforcement and a new ordinance would provide another tool to address problem providers.

In addition, the City Council voiced support for state level change to improve the annual licensure and inspection process through actions such as increasing fines for non-compliance.

The city task force will begin exploring the creation of new tools and return to the City Council in the future with recommendations. Watch the Jan. 11 City Council meeting and read a summary of recommendations actions.

Read a 2023 City Council statement on unlawful sober living homes, initiated by Councilmember Doreen Garlid with the full support of Council. Learn more about the city’s efforts at tempe.gov/SoberLivingHomes.

Get help, report issues

The state has created a dedicated hotline for anyone who has been impacted by the closures of sober living homes. Call 2-1-1 and press 7 to report abuse or get information. More details are also at https://211arizona.org/mmip.

To report concerns about sober living homes in Tempe, call Tempe 311 at 480-350-4311.

Media contact: Susie Steckner, susie_steckner@tempe.gov or 480-604-6128.

Original source can be found here.