Making rooms for the homeless
Turning Danbury motel into shelter would increase affordable housing
DANBURY — Turning the Super 8 Motel into a homeless shelter wouldn’t just provide supportive services for those without a place to live. It would also add to the city’s stock of affordable housing units — something Danbury has been trying to do.
That’s part of the pitch from the city’s head planner to permit a shelter in 3 Lake Avenue Extension’s zone.
“The proposed deed restrictions really do have public benefits for the city of Danbury,” Sharon Calitro, the planning director, told the Planning Commission this past week.
The proposed 86 shelter and supportive housing rooms would be considered affordable housing under state statute, she said.
Twelve percent of the city’s housing stock meets the state’s affordability threshold, which is about double the state average. But Danbury officials have been concerned about housing costs in the city and are working on an affordable housing plan.
The shelter proposal is before the land use boards, with Zoning Board of Appeals scheduled to hold a virtual public hearing on May 13. The Zoning Commission voted unanimously last week to give it a positive referral, while the Planning Commission did the same last week.
Pacific House, a Stamford-based nonprofit, and the state are negotiating to buy the motel with a grant and turn it into a permanent shelter with 86 rooms.
While Mayor Joe Cavo had said a few weeks ago that the deal could be wrapped up by the end of April, he said Tuesday he had no update on the negotiations.
“I’m still waiting to hear, as well,” he said.
Officials have said the idea is an innovative way to address homelessness because individuals will receive supportive services to help them find housing and jobs, while no longer being packed together in one room. Traditional shelters have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, so homeless individuals are already staying and receiving services at the motel.
“This is, how we understand it, the new model for transitional supportive facilities to address the needs of the homeless and is a model that is endorsed by the state,”
Calitro said.
Under Danbury’s Plan of Conservation and Development, homeless individuals are considered one of the “special needs” group the city should support, she said.
Motel vs. shelter
The motel is in an arterial commercial zone known as CA-80 that does not allow homeless shelters. Pacific House seeks a use variance to make the shelter permanent.
Calitro argued a shelter and motel are not all that different.
“In this particular case, hotels are permitted uses in the zone,” she said. “They offer rooms for people who are paying. In case of the shelter, they are offering similar transient lodging for a population that just can’t pay.”
Commission member Perry Salvagne IV wasn’t sold on the argument. Hotels may contribute more to the city, whereas a shelter could become a “burden” on services, he said.
“The people you’re attracting with a hotel are here to do business, maybe participate in tourism, visit family, etc,” said Salvagne, who ultimately voted in favor of the plan. “I would wonder whether people
coming to use this as a shelter use might contribute to the costs of our services, whether that’s police, ambulance, the various other services that are offered in the city for those in need.”
That’s a concern others in the community have had. The police chief has said the department has not seen an increase in calls or issues at the Super 8 since individuals were moved there, compared to the old shelters.
Another commission member questioned whether Danbury residents would get priority for the rooms.
Shelters are required to take in anyone who needs a bed, no matter his or her hometown, said Rafael Pagan, Jr. executive director of Pacific House.
But those who get placed in the supportive housing rooms will be from the Danbury area’s coordinated access network — the group of service providers who connect individuals with housing and resources, he said.
“They’re not going to get someone referred from a different community and referred to be housed there,” Pagan told The News-Times earlier this month.
Forty-eight rooms would be used as supportive housing, while the rest would be emergency beds, according to the application filed with city. The state will issue vouchers for individuals to live in the former rooms.
Kitchens would not be included in the supportive rooms, otherwise they would be considered “dwelling units,” which are not permitted in the zone, Calitro said.
“The supportive services requirement in the condition ensures that it’s just not giving somebody a bed and a bagged lunch and sending them on their way,” she said. “There are going to be supportive services there — counseling, work related, so that persons experiencing homeless can transition from that position into more self sufficiency and being able to live and work on their own.”