Yarmouth leaders send letter to Healey as residents object to displaced families housing
SOUTH YARMOUTH — Dozens of residents spoke on Tuesday during a Yarmouth Board of Selectmen meeting to voice concerns about proposals to use sites in Yarmouth as emergency housing for migrants and displaced families.
On Monday, town officials announced Gov. Maura Healey's office reported placing six migrant families at the Harborside Suites motel in South Yarmouth and more families may arrive. According to the town, Alicia Rebello-Pradas, Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs in Healey's office, said that they currently have capacity for 23 rooms at the motel, which may increase to up to 35 rooms.
Some at Tuesday's meeting disagreed about the capacity.
"We have no affordable housing here. We have no resources here to support this influx of population in our town. We are still very much a seasonal community that relies on tourism," said resident Cheryl Ball, speaking to the Times during a protest she helped organize outside town hall before the meeting.
Ball created a Facebook group where locals air frustrations with plans to house displaced people in Yarmouth.
How can Gov. Healey place migrants and displaced families in Yarmouth?
In August, Healey's administration declared a state of emergency, citing an influx of migrants seeking shelter and services as the state already faces an affordable housing crunch.
At the time, Healey said that included nearly 5,600 families or more than 20,000 people in state shelters, including children and pregnant women. Healey called on the federal government to speed up work authorizations and shore up financial help.
Scattered apartments, congregate shelters, and rooms in motels and hotels are being tapped to shelter people as well as Joint Base Cape Cod on the Upper Cape. As congregate and scattered sites fill, the state has turned to motels and hotels as a last resort across the state to meet capacity demands.
"We're talking about people here. We talk about crisis, yes, it's a crisis and we're trying to deal with all these issues. But these people are also in crisis, I don't want to lose sight of that," said Yarmouth Board of Selectmen member Daniel Horgan.
Concerns voiced at the meeting included overwhelming local schools and first responders, the region's shrinking housing supply, health issues, and more.
How do people qualify for the emergency shelter system?
In order to qualify for the Massachusetts emergency shelter system, people must meet several requirements. Those within a certain income level, with children, or who are pregnant may be eligible.
The Massachusetts emergency shelter system has been in place since the 1980s but the demand for family shelters has stretched supply over the past year.
For those without U.S. citizenship, some documentation is required. Noncitizens qualify if they were "lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing under color of law in the U.S.," according to the state's eligibility guidelines.
Schools will receive emergency aid for enrollment and other extra costs incurred that are associated with educating students in emergency shelter at $104 per student per day.
Opponents of Healey’s administration sending migrant and displaced families to Joint Base Cape Cod and to the town of Bourne confronted that town's Select Board on Sept. 5, after protesting outside the meeting. The Select Board seemed unable to answer questions about the arrival of migrant and refugee families, the opponents said. The use of taxpayer dollars, and the effect on the Bourne public school system, public health and public safety were raised as concerns by members of the group speaking at the meeting.
In Bourne on Sept. 6, the Bourne Public Schools Superintendent Kerri Anne Quinlan-Zhou publicly reassured the Bourne School Committee that the education of 55 students from migrant or displaced families has placed no financial impacts on Bourne Public Schools at the start of the new school year.
Yarmouth Resort under spotlight
Yarmouth town officials urged the state to not use Yarmouth Resort to house migrants, citing zoning violations and other worries about the property.
On Tuesday, the Select Board voted unanimously to send a letter to Healey to express "its strongest concerns with the possible selection of the Yarmouth Resort motel property as a possible site for emergency migrant housing."
"We are certainly hopeful that a state contract is not issued to this property, which would both reward the past pattern of blatant violations and create an infectious and intolerable precedent," reads the letter.
Issues with Yarmouth Resort property
The 343 Route 28 property has failed to receive an acceptable annual inspection — a prerequisite to receiving a certificate of occupancy. Owners received two separate notices of violation and the town is considering litigation to enforce building and zoning requirements relevant to the property after receiving no response, according to the letter.
A cease-and-desist order has been placed which prevents using the space for housing programs of any kind, the letter says. The zoning violation most concerning to the town includes tenancy at the motel that stretches beyond the transient limits imposed by the Yarmouth zoning bylaws that apply to all motels.
Horgan said the letter may be too limited, noting that Harborside Suites has since been tapped for emergency housing.
"This is a bit of whack-a-mole. The state's already gone around the Yarmouth Resort, now has migrants in the Harborside. This is very good but it's directed at one property. I don't think it fully expresses our concerns with a generalized use of motels for housing," said Horgan.
Board members ultimately chose to send the letter because amending the letter would delay dispatching it by several weeks.
In late August, the Healey administration paused a plan to use the Yarmouth Resort as a temporary shelter for migrant and displaced families. The decision came after town officials and state representatives notified the governor’s office that the resort did not have a certificate of occupancy.
Tension spills over at Yarmouth Town Hall
Tensions were high Tuesday night in Yarmouth Town Hall. A restless crowd waited in the hall as the Board of Selectmen met in executive session to discuss potential litigation regarding alleged zoning violations at Yarmouth Resort.
As the minutes dragged on, one person opened the closed door and some entered the room.
"Don't do that again. That is illegal (and) that is disrespectful," said Board of Selectmen Chair Michael Stone later.
What is the reaction of the Yarmouth Board of Selectmen?
Board of Selectmen members and town officials told residents at the Tuesday meeting that they had little communication with the state regarding plans.
"It's obvious to us not only is the communication poor but the planning is poor," said board member Mark Forest.
Later, police led a female audience member who refused to sit down out of the room at the request of Stone.
Some residents worried about whether migrants are screened for serious illness.
Town Administrator Robert L. Whritenour said the health director reported Tuesday morning that the state has a rapid response medical team on site evaluating medical conditions and conducting health screening for all people placed in the community.
"That is an ongoing process and there is professional medical care," said Whritenour.
Larry Furrer, who was present at the protest before the meeting, said he felt the migrant housing thus far was poorly planned.
"We have to pick up the slack, taxpayers here. Schools are going to be overburdened," said Furrer. "You got all the extra kids they weren't planning on. Police department is going to be overburdened."
Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Yarmouth leaders criticize Healey on communication, plan for migrants
