Substance abuse: recovery and treatment facilities.

Existing law provides for the licensure, certification, and regulation of alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities serving adults, administered by the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. Existing law authorizes the department to issue a license to specified types of facilities if certain criteria are met. Under existing law, these facilities include a facility wherein separate buildings or portions of a residential facility are integral components of a single alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility and all of the components of the facility are managed by the same licensee. Existing law deems an alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility that serves 6 or fewer persons to be a residential use of property for the purposes of the law relating to regulating alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities, whether or not unrelated persons are living together, and subject to specified conditions. In addition, the residents and operators of a facility that satisfies these conditions are considered a family for the purposes of any law or zoning ordinance that relates to the residential use of property. This bill would require, rather than authorize, the department to issue a license if the above criteria are met. The bill would identify facilities with common management of separate facility components, as specified, as "integral facilities," and would exclude these integral facilities from being considered a residential use of property for purposes of the law regulating alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities. The bill would authorize integral facilities to collectively serve 7 or more persons. This bill also would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the provisions described above.