Gardens gets strict on sober homes

City will devote more police, create system for monitoring rentals.

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Palm Beach Gardens is cracking down on sober home operators who violate the law, by devoting more police resources to the problem and creating a system for monitoring rental properties.

Police Chief Stephen Stepp said the city is the first from the north end of Palm Beach County to join State Attorney Dave Aronberg’s Sober Homes Task Force. Expert state attorneys will provide ongoing legal review for complicated cases, Stepp told the City Council at its meeting Thursday night.

Investigations of patient brokering and health care fraud will be coordinated through the state attorney’s office. A Palm Beach Gardens detective will act as a case agent. Stepp said he expects to receive tips through the task force’s hotline: 844-324-5463.

Palm Beach Gardens police han- Keep up with The Post’s complete coverage of Palm Beach Gardens on its Facebook page dedicated to the city. On Facebook, search for dled 32 heroin overdoses, including six deaths, last year, Stepp said. Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue, which responds to calls outside the city limits, treated about 213 overdose patients for heroin and opioid derivatives.

The federal Departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development released updated guidelines pertaining to sober homes Nov. 10. City Attorney Max Lohman said he met with representatives from the office of Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, and attorneys who deal with the issue of sober homes to discuss “reasonable accommodations.”

“It’s not a panacea, but it’s a means of tracking rental properties,” Lohman said.

He said he’s evaluating how stric ter regulations proposed