'Rooming house' bylaws draw discussion from citizens

After nearly two hours of heated discussion and comments from the public, the Springfield Selectboard voted 5-0 to adopt proposed amendments to zoning regulations for rooming houses.

www.eagletimes.com     www.rutlandherald.com

2016-10-26 / Front Page http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20161026/NEWS02/161029661 'Rooming house' bylaws draw discussion from citizens Selectboard approves bylaw changes 5-0 By TORY JONES BONENFANT toryb@eagletimes.com About 50 community members crowded into the meeting room at the Springfield Town Office on Monday night for a public hearing and action on new, amended rooming house rules. — TORY JONES BONENFANT About 50 community members crowded into the meeting room at the Springfield Town Office on Monday night for a public hearing and action on new, amended rooming house rules. — TORY JONES BONENFANT SPRINGFIELD — After nearly two hours of heated discussion and comments from the public, the Springfield Selectboard voted 5-0 to adopt proposed amendments to zoning regulations for rooming houses. About 50 residents squeezed into the meeting room at the Springfield Town Office for the public hearing on Monday, Oct. 24. Several voiced frustration at what they described as unregulated, unsupervised, crowded rooming houses. Others spoke up to advocate for residents who were low-income, elderly, transitional and in recovery and who may need a room to rent as opposed to a full apartment. Some said they wanted the people living in rooming houses or living transitionally, just out of prison, to “go home.” Property owner Will Hunter said that a lot of public housing exists in Springfield, but that it is not available for many low income and disabled people, and that some people in recovery or who have been evicted may have poor rental history. Many people end up in the town’s warming shelter, homeless, or couch surfing, he said. “That is the population we need to be concerned about,” Hunter said. Hunter also said that public safety rules are already in effect for housing, and that it was not an “unregulated wild west situation” from which the community needs protection. Springfield resident Brenda Richardson, who said she owns a rooming house in Perkinsville, said she does not see the need for more low-income housing. “When they put these people in there, they are not always watched over … it’s a swinging door,” she said. Others complained about visible drug use, speeding vehicles and items stored outside on overflowing porches. The amendments will replace the current definition of a “rooming house” to define it as “any dwelling unit with two or more individual sleeping rooms for rent, non-transient, that is, for more than seven days at a time,” for conditional use, and not including motels, inns or bed-and-breakfasts. The new definition also states that “owner occupied, single-family residences” renting out no more than two bedrooms with adequate off-street parking will not be considered rooming houses under the regulation. The amendment also states that the definition of a “family unit” will be one or more persons living, sleeping, cooking and eating on the same premises as a single housekeeping unit, not including a housekeeping unit being operated as a rooming house. The changes also include an amendment to Article 3 of the town’s zoning regulations, adding wording that rooming houses are a conditional use in the town’s HDR, MDR, RC, GB, and CB zoning districts. Paul Cioffi, who has overseen the Springfield Warming Center for the past several years, asked the board and audience to consider helping those in need. He has had 81 people stay there, and a majority of them are from Springfield, he said. “If you say you want them to go home, for most of them, Springfield is their home,” he said, adding that the majority are physically or mentally disabled and have a limited income on social security or disability. “What do decent people do? Decent people help people who are less advantaged,” he said. The number of individuals housed in each bedroom of a rooming house will be determined by the Development Review Board through a site plan review conditional use process, under the amended rules. Some of the public comments were centered around a distance rule that states rooming houses cannot be located within 1,000 feet of another rooming house. A few audience members voiced that the distance was too restrictive. The 1,000-foot regulation does not apply to licensed and registered group homes, McNaughton said. The regulations include a two-year grandfather clause for existing rooming houses, during which time owners must register the building and conform to regulations. The board also answered audience questions on property taxes, explaining that privately owned properties would add to the grand list for tax purposes, while buildings owned by nonprofits may be sanctioned by the state and therefore exempt from taxes. After selectboard member George McNaughton moved to adopt zoning amendments as presented, all of the selectboard members offered their thoughts, ultimately unifying in support of the bylaw amendments. “We don’t want to handcuff ourselves by not taking any actions,” Selectboard Chair Kristi Morris said, adding that there are “some good things happening” in Springfield, such as state services and an established hospital. Morris said the board wants to ensure that people are housed. He also said the board is sympathetic to the concerns it heard from the community. The town has been working on a strategic plan, which includes addressing dilapidated and vacant buildings, school zones and other areas, he said. “Whether you agree with it or not, there is a need,” he said. “Where do we draw the line, and where do we come together as a community?” Morris also called the amendments to the zoning laws a “good start.” McNaughton said the regulations have nothing to do with people in recovery specifically, but that some neighborhoods are turning into rooming house districts, and that it affects the middle-class, blue-collar community. “We need to help people out, we need to preserve integrity of neighborhoods so they don’t become completely institutionalized,” he said. Selectboard member Stephanie Thompson said she is sensitive to the need for affordable housing, but that the definition of “affordable” may vary, and also that she is supportive of more group homes. The Springfield Warming Shelter has been an asset, for example, and has helped homeless people, but density is a concern, she said. “Places that were once single-family units have more and more people living in there,” she said. Thompson also pointed out that some community members are doing a “huge disservice” to others in the community by referring to rooming houses as “sober houses” when they may have no services included in-house to sustain recovery. Mairead O’Reilly and Springfield resident Jacob Speidel, who both work for Vermont Legal Aid, offered advice and cautioned the selectboard to seek further legal opinions on the wording of the amendments before making a final decision. O’Reilly said she had concerns related to federal law, and that enacting the ordinance as written could potentially expose town to liability. She also offered to share some of her writing in the field of opioid recovery to be included in the board’s consideration of issues. Speidel, who represents low-income senior citizens, shared a concern that renting a single room is less expensive than a full apartment, and often, a room is what they can afford. He also said he was concerned the new rules would allow fewer rooms for rent. Upon a suggestion from Speidel that the board send the document to the town’s lawyer for review before coming to a decision, to avoid any possible legal consequences In the future, McNaughton said the town’s attorney is “very aware” of the language in the amendment. The zoning bylaw amendment will go into effect in 21 days. /