LEWISTON — The city’s Housing Committee said the inclusion of transitional housing in new regulations on homeless shelters could have unintended consequences and potentially result in less housing for people trying to transition out of homelessness.
Ahead of a City Council meeting Tuesday, the Housing Committee sent two memos to the council regarding its proposed changes to Lewiston’s shelter ordinance, as well as an agenda item that would adopt a definition of transitional housing.
The definition would be incorporated into the city’s zoning language, but a proposed amendment to the shelter ordinance would also make clear that “the term homeless shelter includes transitional housing.”
According to City Clerk Kathy Montejo, if the amended ordinance is adopted, any transitional housing programs would need to obtain a homeless shelter license in order to operate.
That would include the recently proposed transitional housing project at the Ramada Hotel on Pleasant Street.
Under the current ordinance, first-time applicants are reviewed and either approved or denied by the council.
The Housing Committee said it recommends against including transitional housing in the definition of homeless shelter, because a range of provisions in the shelter ordinance do not apply to transitional housing and could create “significant unintended consequences.”
According to the memo, transitional housing can take many forms, and is often located in market rate apartments. It also includes housing types like housing for youth under 18, recovery residences for those struggling with substance use and housing for youth that is operated by organizations like New Beginnings.
The committee said including transitional housing in the ordinance could also inhibit the development of recovery residences in Lewiston at a time when more help for substance use recovery is needed.
The memo said they are also concerned with the shelter ordinance’s cap on shelter beds, and if transitional housing is included in that cap, it could result in “even less housing for people who are transitioning out of homelessness into safe, stable places to live.”
If the language on transitional housing is approved in a first reading Tuesday, it would go to the Planning Board for review and recommendation, then back to the council for final passage. If adopted, it would go into effect 30 days later.
Asked Friday, Mayor Carl Sheline said he was surprised to see the item on Tuesday’s agenda, “especially given all of the supportive comments made by councilors during the recent workshop in light of the transitional housing needs of our veterans and seniors.”
Last month, councilors signaled support for the Ramada project after Lewiston Housing officials said the units would be prioritized for Lewiston residents.
“It appears that this amendment fails the good faith test and is a thinly veiled attempt to sabotage a private real estate transaction,” Sheline said. “In the middle of a statewide housing crisis, we should be making it easier to develop more housing, instead of asking staff to work on these needless roadblocks and red tape.”
The council will also hold a final reading Tuesday on amendments to the shelter ordinance.
Last month, the council approved the amendments in a first reading, which included language pertaining to the financial capacity of shelters as well as “performance standards” that shelters licensed by the city must conform to.
Councilor Linda Scott said her concerns for adding performance standards came from resident complaints about former shelters at the Lewiston Armory and Calvary United Methodist Church.
Councilors debated the financial piece considerably, with the council eventually settling on only requiring first-time applicants to meet the regulations.
Councilors Bob McCarthy, Rick LaChapelle and Lee Clement argued that shelter operations should have to prove financial stability in order to get a project off the ground, but some argued that the language appeared more burdensome for shelters than what is already required of regular businesses.
A Housing Committee memo included in the council packet for Tuesday said “applicants seeking a shelter license should not be held to a higher and different standard from other licensed entities.”
After the vote, Clement requested that staff look at South Portland’s ordinances regarding shelters enacted this year, and incorporate any recommended changes in regard to definitions of transitional housing and homeless shelters.
After several extensions, South Portland recently allowed an ordinance to go into effect barring hotels from operating as emergency shelters.
Clement has continued to question Lewiston Housing’s proposal at the Ramada after an exchange in which he believed LHA Director Chris Kilmurry was being untruthful.
Kilmurry has since defended the exchange, saying he was asked to keep the potential Ramada sale confidential. After the proposed sale was made public, roughly half the hotel staff quit, he said.
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