Danbury Zoners Reject Proposal To Convert Motel For Homeless Use

DANBURY, CT — The city's Planning and Zoning Commission has rejected a proposal to convert a motel into 66 double-occupancy units for local homeless people.

Pacific House, a Stamford-based nonprofit dedicated to "ending homelessness in Lower Fairfield County," sued the city in 2021 when it was denied use of the Super 8 Motel on Lake Avenue Extension as a transitional homeless shelter. The city used the Super 8 as an overflow shelter at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the governor's emergency order permitting the homeless to be housed there without zoning permission expires at the end of June.

The state provided nearly $4.63 million in federal funding to Pacific House to purchase the motel in May 21, without any agreement in place with the city to modify the zoning restrictions in the area.

The proposal was an offer at settling the suit out of court, and would have required the city to carve out a zoning exception in the area's zoning regulations for a "supportive housing facility" for 132 people at the Super 8. In addition to housing, the Pacific House clients would also receive social services and job training. The compromise was rejected by the Zoners in a 5 to 4 vote Tuesday.