Group home permitting status is in dispute

A landlord and City officials differ on whether the proposed group home at 221 Chestnut Ave. needs a zoning variance and community review. It also remains unclear exactly what kind of group home is being proposed, which would affect the permitting, with even its proposed operating organization expressing confusion.

Neighbors, meanwhile, have retained a lawyer due to concerns that owner City Realty and potential occupant Casa Nueva Vida (CNV) are not meeting the legal requirements for the permitting.

CNV, a nonprofit that helps formerly homeless people, aims to occupy a a 3,200-square-foot, multi-bedroom unit in the house. The landlord, City Realty, has renovated that unit in the last six months.

City Realty co-owner Fred Starikov told the Gazette last week there are no requirements that mandate any community notices for CNV moving in, as it would be an allowed use under the current zoning code.

He added that the City’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD) has already “vetted” the proposal.

“We were told this is permittable,” he said. “They just have to abide by state sanitary codes” that limit occupancy to 24 people, he added. City Realty has reached an agreement with CNV that will limit occupancy to 15 people.

But the City says no decision has been made.

“ISD is currently reviewing the use being proposed at 221 Chestnut Ave. to determine whether Casa Nueva Vida can occupy the property as of right, or if they will require a variance that would trigger a community process,” City spokesperson Melina Schuler told the Gazette last week.

The group home would require a state license, which first requires getting any relevant City permits, according to Liana Poston of state Rep. Liz Malia’s office. Malia is the chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

Manuel Duran, president and CEO of CNV, told the Gazette that it is City Realty’s responsibility to have that City approval for the facility.

“Our business is helping people,” he said, without clarifying the type of group home under consideration.

During a follow-up conversation, Duran acknowledged that he is himself unclear on the difference between “transitional housing” and “group home.”

A state-licensed group home would need a conditional use permit, while transitional housing would not.

“I’m not the best person to ask,” he said. “I can’t tell too much of the difference.”

He directed the Gazette to ask for further clarification from City Realty or ISD lawyers.

Abutter Paul Donelan told the Gazette that he and other neighbors have retained lawyer Peter Fenn. The neighbors believe there are conflicts between the type of City permit City Realty and CNV requested and the state funding they are seeking, he said.

Duran said last week that the average family stays at a CNV facility for seven to eight months. He also said that the planned facility on Chestnut Avenue would have 24-hour supervision and assistance on site for its residents.

City Realty also recently leased space to another support organization, Heading Home, which provides transitional and permanent housing to low-income and formerly homeless families and individuals, at 3 Atherton St.

“This is nothing new. We’ve always rented to nonprofits,” Starikov said.

That property has previously been on JP’s Problem Properties list, maintained by Malia’s office, but it has had no complaints or other updates since June.

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