Danbury Zoning Board Denies Exemption for Homeless Shelter

DANBURY, CT — The Dorothy Day Hospitality House is one step closer to shutting down for good.

The Zoning Board of Appeals denied the downtown homeless shelter's request for a set of variances that would have effectively absolved the building from complying with modern zoning regulations, The News Times is reporting. The 120-year-old building received permits to operate when it opened 35 years ago, but in 2015 officials determined that the shelter had not renewed those permits each year since. The city also argues that the 1983 permit was unlawful, because because shelters were not permitted in residential neighborhoods and because there is no such thing as a temporary zoning permit.

The issue has become a heated and contentious one, with supporters of the shelter's work at loggerheads with Spring Street neighbors who want to see it shut down.

At the Thursday night meeting the board asked city staff and counsel to draft a resolution denying the variances. A formal vote is expected to be scheduled for next month.

For more on the story, see The News Times.

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