Harbor Place, which provides temporary lodging for homeless people, can continue operating in Shelburne, the town’s development review board ruled Wednesday.
Champlain Housing Trust, a nonprofit affordable housing organization that operates the facility, had been embroiled in a year-long dispute with Joe Colangelo, the town manager and zoning administrator. The spat began in October 2015 when Colangelo sent the organization a “notice of violation,” claiming that Harbor Place was not a motel and therefore violated town zoning regulations. Residents living near the small complex on Shelburne Road had complained to the town.
On Wednesday, the town’s development review board voted 4 to 2 in CHT’s favor, concluding that Harbor Place is indeed a motel — though one that caters to homeless people.
CHT bought the 59-room Econo Lodge in 2013, renamed it Harbor Place, and began running it as a motel where the state and community organizations could pay discounted rates to put up homeless clients. The state was already spending millions to put people up in traditional motels. Partner organizations, including the Howard Center and Steps to End Domestic Violence (formerly Women Helping Battered Women), sent case managers to Harbor Place to help people find permanent housing and get medical and other treatment.
Colangelo argued that Harbor Place wasn’t a motel because it did not serve the general public, but rather a specific subset of people. It also provided services that went beyond what motels offer, he said.
In its decision, the DRB wrote that such an interpretation was “impermissibly narrow” and concluded that homeless people counted as the “general public.” In reference to the particular services Harbor Place provides, the DRB observed, “It is no different than a facility that offers transient lodging accommodations and caters to people who have means, such as a motel with a spa or high end concierge services.”
“We’ll continue operating as we have. We’re still pretty much full on a day-to- day basis so certainly the need is still there,” said Chris Donnelly, community relations director for CHT. “We’re certainly pleased with the reaffirmation of the DRB that … it’s operating as a motel and the folks there are members of the general public,” he added.
Colangelo said he hasn’t had time yet to decide whether to appeal the ruling; he has 30 days to do so.
“I did my job in the most professional and best manner I saw fit, and I think that everyone else involved also did,” Colangelo said Thursday. “I certainly can recognize that this is maybe one of the more difficult matters that have come before the DRB lately.”
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Good news for CHT and those served at Harbor Place. Hopefully this decision makes it easier for these needed services/transitional housing to occur in other similar properties, which can find new life being repurposed for this type of use.
Let’s not pretend this was just about zoning ordinances. The impetus for the notice of violation was that the “specific subset of people” the motel serves are people that some residents of Shelburne don’t like.
so glad we wasted thousands of dollars to sue- along with the law suit against the railroad salt depositories….PERHAPS OUR TOWN MANAGER could manager a little better instead of being so sue-happy.
Colangelo stop spending our money on this….but now with the Gentleman’s Club moving in – he’ll have his hands full….imagine a town that didn’t even want Dunkin Donuts now having a strip club- protected by the constitution as free speech…….I delight in the irony!
I wish people would not jump to conclusions. CHT has many supporters in Shelburne, and the Selectboard even voted to donate money to the organization last year. They also supported the building of CHT’s other project, Harrington Village, right in the heart of Shelburne Village.
Harbor Place has legitimate issues to be dealt with regarding the project, most notably:
(1) Safety: Harbor Place residents have been nearly hit by cars on Shelburne Road on numerous occasions, because they do not cross the four-lane divided road at intersections, nor look adequately for oncoming cars. And the safety of the residents themselves while staying there due to many individuals coming from abusive relationships is also a problem.
(2) Increased demands on Police and Rescue Services, which are at the facility almost daily.
(3) Taxes: as a non-profit, how has the tax structure of the motel changed?
(4) The facility is far from other needed services for its residents, and transportation is a problem (buses do not run adequately).
Even with the DRB’s decision, some of these remaining issues need to be resolved. Current zoning does not address these adequately, which is indeed actually the problem.
VTPolicyAnalyst- did you sit through these meetings? i did. And my comments were on the waste of money by the Town manager and the select board. I agree there are many kinks to work out- but count the number of vacant buildings/motels/ furniture stores & restaurants on Shelburne road- and tell me this was not a good solution for the property.
Hi Sean – I did sit through some of those meetings. I concur that this is a viable use for that troubled property. Some issues remain unresolved, however. The Town as a whole has does a poor job of updating and addressing zoning issues, just like it is now behind in trying to adapt to a adult-club issue.
The Shelburne Road corridor itself was developed poorly originally. The new form-based code for that area, which promotes more housing, will help, but not alleviate, the issue of unoccupied properties. The problem is that corridor was developed with a strip-mall suburban mentality, which doesn’t work well when folks are just “passing through”. It’s an outdated model which is failing across the country.
I do get concerned when some people make issues like this into one of “class” or a “us-vs-them” mentality. Shelburne is a diverse community. It still has four mobile home parks (by contrast, South Burlington has NONE and Burlington has ONE). And let’s not forget that Paul Bohne, long-time Town Manager for Shelburne prior to Joe Colangelo, was board President of CHT for many years. The Town always supported his efforts.
Lol! Anything with walls for homeless is flawed and unsustainable: http://www.departitionedhousing.com/
FOLLOW THE MONEY, and you will find out WHY this CRIME MAGNET is still open.
This place is a live action advertisement for Trump’s travel ban and a second term for that idiot. Terrible decisions by well intentioned progressives are bringing monsters like Abukar Ibrahim into the state and undermining the credibility of otherwise positive liberal platforms.