Source: Burlington Free Press, May 13, 2010

By John Briggs

“The Burlington Housing Authority intends to contest the city’s motion to reopen an Act 250 permit hearing about locating a 20-bed halfway house on Elmwood Avenue.

“We firmly believe the city has no basis for an appeal,” BHA Director Paul Dettman said. “They were not a party to the proceeding. They don’t have standing to file a motion to amend the permit. We intend to file a counter-motion. Our attorneys are working on it.”

Monday, the City Council, by a 10-4 vote, directed the city attorney to file a motion urging the Act 250 district commission to take a closer look at the project. Police Chief Mike Schirling told the council that although transitional housing is much needed, Burlington social services are over-stretched.

Jeff Nick, chairman of the Church Street Marketplace Commission, told the council that the housing, so close to the downtown, could have an adverse effect on Marketplace businesses.

Mayor Bob Kiss, however, in a memo to the council, said the project should go ahead. “I believe this program will not place an unreasonable burden on our ability to provide municipal services,” he said.

BHA is buying property at 37 Elmwood Ave. to lease to Phoenix House, a national nonprofit group that operates group houses for individuals with substance-abuse issues. In this case, the 20 residents will be newly released prisoners. The Vermont Department of Corrections will pay Phoenix House to run the transitional house.

Dave Peebles, community justice executive with the Department of Corrections, said the residents will be screened by Corrections and Phoenix House to select individuals who “need the set of services” the transitional house will provide and who are motivated and have “the ability to succeed.” A similar 25-bed Phoenix House project in Brattleboro has been successful and trouble-free, he said. Corrections has “a history of successful relationships with Phoenix House,” Peebles said.

Peebles said a small Corrections study recently suggested about half the residents of the house will avoid returning to jail, about the same percentage as released prisoners returning to a stable home environment. Without either the stable home or transitional housing, he said, virtually all of the prisoners will end up back in prison…”

Full story: Burlington Housing Authority vows to fight for halfway house

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