My name is Noah Fenton and my only affiliation with RAW Recovery and Wellness is that I am a former resident.

RAW Recovery has been operating at 268 Knox Street in Costa Mesa, California (“Knox House”) since 2015. The Knox House provided a safe and sober home for men recovering from addiction. To join the household, each resident was required to maintain their sobriety, participate in a 12-Steps Program, contribute to the household by paying rent and cleaning and provide mutual support to other housemates. In 2015, the City of Costa Mesa enacted an ordinance requiring RAW Recovery to obtain an operator’s permit because the Knox House was providing housing for recovering addicts in a residential zone.

The Costa Mesa Planning Commission granted RAW’s application and then something unprecedented happened: City council members voted to reverse the Planning Commission’s decision and immediately ordered the Knox House to close. The City of Costa Mesa then sued RAW in state court and sought to evict the sober residents from their home. The City claimed the Knox House was a “public nuisance” solely on the fact it housed disabled persons without a City permit. The state court ordered Knox House to close and forced its residents to relocate during the height of the COVID pandemic.

RAW Recovery has sued the City in federal court for discrimination, but federal cases take much longer than state cases to resolve. While the federal lawsuit is pending, I am asking you to support RAW and David Alexander. The City of Costa Mesa has asked Dave to pay over $50,000 in legal fees based on the state courts decision even with the federal case still pending. The City has threatened to arrest Dave and severely obstructed his company’s ability to help addicts and alcoholics.