Barnstable ZBA Votes Down Proposed Homeless Shelter

HYANNIS – A plan to convert offices on Hyannis’ West Main Street into a larger space for the Saint Joseph’s House shelter was denied by Barnstable’s zoning board of appeals last week.

In a tense four-hour-plus hearing in the Barnstable High School performing arts center, the board voted 4-1 to overturn the finding from Building Commissioner Brian Florence that use of the property at 460 West Main St. as an emergency overnight homeless shelter constituted an allowable non-conforming use. Member Herb Bodenseik was the lone vote in opposition.

The Saint Joseph’s shelter on Winter Street is owned by Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) and operated by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fall River. The Diocese has run the shelter through a contract with the state Department of Housing and Livable Communities since 2016.

Chatham, Brewster and Bourne appropriated $100,000 each in Community Preservation Act funding for the project this past spring, as well as an additional $20,000 from Truro. A HAC spokesperson said that other towns are expected to vote on similar funding requests at upcoming town meetings.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a subcommittee of the Barnstable County Regional Network “identified a clear need for a larger, modern facility with day programming and onsite medical and supportive services,” according to information on HAC’s website. HAC looked at 10 potential shelter locations, entering into negotiations with five, before settling on 460 Main St., where HAC was headquartered before moving into new office space on Independence Drive.

Plans for the larger shelter call for a 9,000-square-foot single-floor facility with medical behavioral health services, more room for single beds and larger common rooms for all shelter guests. Capacity at the shelter would remain at 50 guests, and guests would have to be in the shelter by 3 p.m. before being discharged at 9 a.m. the next morning.

Florence in April determined that the proposed shelter operation is an allowable non-conforming use under the Dover Amendment, which restricts the way boards and municipalities regulate certain uses, including religious ones. Florence said Catholic Charities’ articles of organization and supporting affidavits he’s received state that the organization’s purpose includes providing shelter for the homeless.

“It’s not my role, it’s not the court’s role and respectfully it’s not the board’s role to tell a religious use whether or not their act of faith is or is not an act of faith,” he told the board July 22.

But concerns have been raised from residents about the proposed shelter’s operation, including how it might impact local businesses and nearby schools. 

Maria R. Walsh, an abutter to 460 West Main St., filed an appeal of Florence’s decision with the zoning board on behalf of Mia’s Family Trust. The board held its first hearing on the appeal in June before reconvening on July 22.

Dan Creedon, the attorney representing the appellant, said that HAC and Catholic Charities only met one of the two necessary criteria for a religious use under the Dover Amendment. While serving the homeless is in step with Catholic Charities’ mission, he argued, the shelter use “does not speak to the second required element, that the use must be primarily and dominantly religious.”

But Eliza Cox, the attorney representing HAC and Catholic Charities, said operation of the shelter “is the direct institutional expression of the Catholic Church, and it is itself a form of worship. And therefore it is clearly protected under the Dover Amendment.”

“You might not like the Dover Amendment’s limits on your municipal authority, but it is the law,” she said. “And as members of the board, you took an oath to apply the law to the matters that come before you.”

Susan Mazzarella, CEO of the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fall River, called the issue of housing “a matter of human dignity.” Operating the shelter, she said, is an extension of Catholic Charities’ mission to “care for people with mercy and justice.”

Mazzarella attempted to discuss conditions at the existing shelter, including steep stairs and overcrowded sleeping and common areas. But Zoning Board Chair Jacob Dewey said those considerations stray from the parameters of the board’s review.

“We are making a determination based on what the building commissioner’s decision was,” he said.

Rev. Thomas Washburn, pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich, said the shelter operation is lockstep in line with the mission of the Catholic Church.

“When a church operates a homeless shelter, when the church operates this homeless shelter, Saint Joseph’s, it is not engaging in an activity separate from its religious mission,” he said. “In fact, it’s carrying it out. It’s practicing what it preaches. It is faith made visible. It is prayer put into action.”

But opponents continued to raise concerns about the dangers the shelter’s operation on Main Street could pose. Rick Brigham, a Hyannis resident who said he worked at the Winter Street shelter for 27 years, said he believes those that stand to be helped through the shelter include sex offenders.

“To put this near four schools, to put children at risk, is not safe,” he said.

Others pointed their criticism toward HAC. Cindy Jones of Centerville said she’s read “thousands” of pages of documents about the nonprofit’s use of public money. She pointed to HAC’s application for shelter funding through the Barnstable Affordable Housing Trust, which she said seldom called attention to its religious mission.

“The word ‘religious’ appears once in a footnote regarding clothing donations,” she said. “Not one mention of religious use. Not one mention of corporate work of mercy.”

Laurie Crowley of Hyannis said her concerns about the project aren’t about the need to help the homeless, but rather the proposed location near four local schools

“As a grandmother, this is personal,” she said. “My grandchildren are in that area everyday, including one who waits for the school bus to attend Cape Tech in Harwich.”

In a letter to Hyannis West Elementary School parents dated May 27, HAC and Catholic Charities addressed the concerns about the proposed shelter's proximity to the schools, noting that the Winter Street shelter has operated near several schools without issue for years.

“We know as a parent that there is absolutely nothing more important than the safety of your child,” the letter read. “As a member of the Cape Cod community since 1984, St. Joseph’s House has always prioritized the safety of both the members of the community as well as the shelter’s guests.”

Others spoke in support of the project. Mary Doolan, a resident of Osterville, said the controversy that has grown over the shelter’s proposed relocation is “unnecessary.” She said she and her husband volunteered at the shelter back when HAC operated it as NOAH.

“The shelter was inadequate and outdated then and is totally unfit today,” she said.

Alex Bonfiglio of Hyannis, meanwhile, said opposition to the relocation is born out of NIMBYism, or an attitude of “not in my back yard.” He urged the board to consider the effect its decision will have on the community.

“It’s going to have an impact, but I’d like it to have a positive impact, and an impact that helps keep the shelter going,” she said.

Brooke Sargent graduated in 2011 from Sturgis East High School, which is located on Main Street in Hyannis. While she attested to the homelessness issue in the area, she said it didn’t pose a threat to her as a student.

“I was never harassed, never made to feel unsafe or anything like that,” she said.

But the zoning board ultimately determined that the motivation behind the relocated shelter was not grounds for approval under the Dover Amendment.

“I’m not talking about motivation,” said board member Paul Pinard. “I’m talking about inside. What happens to the use of the land?”

“Nobody said there has to be sermons,” Bodensheik said.

“There’s got to be an overt religious practice observable, not people’s motivation internally,” board member Manny Alves said.

In a joint statement following the zoning board’s decision, Mazzarella and HAC CEO Alisa Magnotta said the two agencies are “evaluating their options” for how to proceed with plans for a new shelter space.

“This project, as the building commissioner determined, fits squarely within the letter and spirit of the Dover Amendment,” they said. “The shelter move will enable Catholic Charities to better serve Cape Codders experiencing homelessness and help them find a permanent home.”