Approximate location of 117 Ramsey St. (Screenshot)
Last week, the Manchester Zoning Board of Adjustment approved two variances for a congregate living facility at 117 Ramsey St. following near unanimous praise regarding its operations.
Persephanie Lesperance on behalf of Grandmaison Recovery Homes Inc. requested a reasonable accommodation for the variances on the property from the city’s zoning ordinance limiting the number of non-related occupants of a residential unit as well as its congregate housing requirements. In the city’s current zoning ordinance, a maximum of four unrelated people are allowed to live in a dwelling unit without a variance from the city ordinance.
Technically, an extension of the property’s primary building that held a daycare facility from the 1970s until 2017 had become a defacto second dwelling unit for Grandmaison Recovery Homes, which meant technically the facility could house four unrelated people in each half of the building without the need to go before the zoning board.
In the request, Lesperance asked if six people could live on one side of the building and seven people could live on the other side, or if the building could be classified as a two-family home with 13 unrelated people in residence. In both avenues, one of the people would be a house leader assisting the other 12 residents. Each resident would receive approximately 300 square feet of personal living space in addition to common areas.
Additionally, the reasonable accommodation request, available to applicants that can prove that the request is related to physical or mental disability, would allow the board to ignore the hardship prong of the five variance criteria under state law. Under the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals seeking recovery from drug and alcohol abuse are classified as disabled.
Several current and former residents came before the board to share their experiences of recovery from drug and alcohol abuse obtained while at the facility, with Lesperance also providing a detailed overview on the facilities’ standards and procedures.
“I’ve been in the industry for eight-and-a-half years and I understand the trauma we’ve all been through,” said Lesperance. “I can say that all I want to do is work with the city.”
Ward 9 Alderman Jim Burkush, who lives near the property and represents it on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, reported in correspondence to the board that he took a tour of the facility and was impressed. In the correspondence, he also reported that he had not received any negative feedback from constituents about the facility.
No one at the meeting spoke in opposition to the request, with the only opposition coming from correspondence given by a neighbor who reported cars leaving and entering the cul-de-sac near the property at all times of day and night and that the property’s use as a congregate housing facility could hurt re-sale values for their home.
Lesperance reported that the property, which is located near the end of Ramsey Street, frequently saw people not related to the facility park nearby due to the street’s proximity to the South Manchester Rail Trail. Additionally, Lesperance said that homeless individuals also frequently could be found nearby, giving the impression that the area had more traffic than it might seem. She also noted that there is a 10 p.m. curfew and anyone found leaving or entering the building past that time would likely be evicted from the premises.
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