DANA POINT – City officials said this week they are not backing off lawsuits that aim to shut down two Capistrano Beach sober-living houses affiliated with two treatment centers, contending that their operation violates state law and the city’s zoning code.

The lawsuits, filed by the city June 22 in Orange County Superior Court, allege that sober-living homes Capo By the Sea, at 27036 Azul Drive, and Sovereign Health Group, at 25512 Evans Pointe, are operating as drug abuse recovery and treatment facilities without state licenses.

The city’s announcement follows a recent statement issued by Sovereign Health disputing Dana Point’s lawsuits and calling then “baseless.”

“The city’s lawsuit falsely alleges that Sovereign Health was operating an alcohol and drug abuse treatment facility in violation of state and local laws,” the July 5 statement said. “Dana Point’s filing clearly demonstrates that the city has insufficient understanding of California state licensing regulations.”

Sovereign officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Dana Point City Attorney Patrick Munoz said the lawsuits follow an investigation into city and state regulations governing sober-living homes after residents complained about drugs, noise, second-hand smoke and the proliferation of these homes in their neighborhoods.

Munoz said the city filed its lawsuits based on the investigation.

“The city welcomes a good faith effort by the defendants to present any information they may have to support their position without the need for incurring the costs of litigation and discovery,” he said.

The city also alleges in the suits that the homes are providing service to more than six people, which under the Dana Point zoning code means they are businesses, and that they are illegally operating in a residential area.

Sovereign Health said it operates nine treatment facilities in five states: California, Arizona, Florida, Texas and Utah. Each facility, it says in the statement, is fully licensed in accordance with the regulations of the state where the facility is located. In addition, all Sovereign facilities have been awarded Gold Seal accreditation by the Joint Commission, the highest level of accreditation available in the behavioral health field, according to the statement.

“Dana Point’s investigation was so haphazard that no one from the city even bothered to contact Sovereign Health with regard to how the property named in the complaint was being utilized,” the statement said.

The lawsuits are the latest in Orange County and other Southern California coastal areas known as the “Riviera of Rehab” because of the hundreds of drug and alcohol addiction treatment centers and sober-living houses concentrated there.

John T. Kahal, who owns the house on Azul and operates Capo By The Sea, also disputed the city’s lawsuit. He said the home is not providing treatment services. He said patients receive treatment in his licensed treatment facility at another Capo Beach house or at two outpatient suites in the Ortega Business Center in San Juan Capistrano.

Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com or on Twitter:@lagunaini