City to Discuss Efforts to Regulate 'Maternity Homes'

City leaders will discuss the efforts to regulate so-called maternity homes at the Tuesday evening City Council meeting, as complaints regarding such facilities have increased sharply in the last year.

The city has shut down four maternity homes this year, Assistant City Manager Jason Kruckeberg said.

"It's very prevalent problem, not just in Arcadia, but throughout the San Gabriel Valley," Kruckeberg said.

Entering the U.S. as a tourist and having a child is not illegal, and there are no federal or state laws regulating the practice — leaving municipalities like Arcadia to control maternity boarding homes through zoning, building, safety and business ordinances. The city will talk about what it has done to regulate maternity homes and discuss the possibility of procuring full-time help in investigating such facilities.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m in the City Council chambers at 240 W. Huntington Drive in Arcadia.