The chief executive officer of a Norma Triangle sober living facility for recovering drug addicts met with concerned resident Sunday at West Hollywood Auditorium.

The new inhabitant of what used to be the San Vicente Inn, Klean West Hollywood, opened its doors on Dec. 7, but quickly drew ire from neighbors for what they said was a lack of notification.

Many wanted to know why the city did not intervene in the matter and soon found out that state and federal laws hold legal precedent.

Yet neighbors still expressed worries over their safety with substance abuse recoveries moving in just a few addresses away.

“You put them in an environment like this, no tools … then you put a woman and a child walking down the street in grave danger,” said resident Richard Cohen.

But in his first face-to-face discussion with about 50 Norma Triangle residents, CEO Andrew Spanswick said that the staff at Klean West Hollywood conducts searches and bed checks on their clients throughout the day and night and that retention is an issue that is being well-mitigated.

“We have an electric gate, I’ll leave it at that,” Spanswick said. “If anybody tried to leave the premises, we’d know about it instantaneously.”

He also gave some more background on Klean West Hollywood, such as the entity that owns it, White Rabbit Partners, LLC.

There are currently only two stockholders in White Rabbit Partners, LLC, Spanswick said: himself and his partner Dr. Jason Coe, who is also a psychiatric medical director at Klean West Hollywood.

Spanswick explained that Klean West Hollywood is a for-profit business and that he is working to make the center a residential treatment facility, a process which requires a state license.

Klean West Hollywood is categorized as a sober living facility, which takes in those recovering from a drug addiction to be monitored, and is permitted to open according to state laws without the consent of the local municipal government if the number of patients is six or less per address.

There are currently twelve beds total available at the center, with three patients so far, Spanswick said.

The maximum price tag for a stay at Klean West Hollywood is about $28,000, he said.

Another resident raised the issue of privacy when it comes a prominent client checking in.

If paparazzi appear to be camping outside the facility and the matter gets of hand, Spanswick said he knows what option to exercise.

“I’ll recommend them to be transferred to another facility,” he said.
Mayor Abbe Land was in attendance and said the city has little authority to intervene.

“The challenge with some of this is that a lot of sober living facilities and residential drug treatment facilities, a lot of these are regulated at the state and federal level,” she told those in attendance. “Over the years, the ability of municipalities has been taken away through different legislation.”

Klean West Hollywood also has a third-floor outpatient office at 8543 Santa Monica Blvd. where residents are given “intensive outpatient services.”

Residents at Spanswick’s facility are transported to the outpatient office where they receive treatment.

Spanswick also made it clear that no medication is dispensed at that office.
Any drugs prescribed are done so through each patient’s own private doctor and is self-administered at Klean West Hollywood, he added.

In December, Spanswick applied for a license to run a residential treatment facility, which would include medical and psychological treatment at Klean West Hollywood, from the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.

The process takes about six months.

A number of residents at the meeting asked whether Spanswick would be willing to share all the necessary documentation to run a residential treatment center.

“For the most part I don’t think it would be a problem sharing what our goals are in a reasonable setting,” Spanswick responded.

According to Suzi Rupp, a public information officer with the ADP, told The Independent a license to run a residential treatment center is public record, but the process in obtaining one is not.

Spanswick also said that he has already obtained a business tax permit from the city.

Although it has been only a month since Klean West Hollywood opened, Spanswick said his dialogue with the city goes back to last June, when he was negotiating a deal to acquire the San Vicente Hotel.

“We have a lease with an option to buy and an 18-month window to purchase the business,” he said.

Spanswick added that the purchase is contingent upon the success of Klean West Hollywood.