Dispute Continues Over Facility Proposed for Arcadia Street

By Adam Swift

A 24-bed facility proposed for 84 Arcadia Street will help provide services for homeless people in Revere, and falls under a specific zoning ordinance relative to restorative and educational houses, according to Revere attorney Gerry D’Ambosio, who represents the Oak Island developers of the property.

However, neighbors state that a dead end street in a residential neighborhood is not a suitable location for what is being proposed.

The facility will be operated as a non-profit, and Boston-based Bay Cove Human Services will provide services for those at the facility, which targets the existing homeless population of Revere, according to the attorney.

The project was before the city’s Site Plan Review Committee on Tuesday morning. D’Ambrosio said that committee looks at the construction of the building itself, and not the use.

Because the use is defined as a restorative/educational facility under Revere zoning and the state’s Dover amendment, D’Ambrosio said it does not need approval for the use by the Zoning Board of Appeals or the City Council.

This week, D’Ambrosio said he wanted to correct some misinformation about the project.

“It’s not a shelter, it’s not a detox center, and it’s not a drug rehab facility,” said D’Ambrosio.

He said the facility would target the homeless population living on the streets in Revere. D’Ambrosio said there are currently about 25 to 50 people living on the streets in the city, with a lack of resources to get them situated in Revere.

Bay Cove saw the opportunity to provide restorative housing at the Arcadia Street address, which D’Ambrosio said is currently unused and in less than ideal condition.

“There’s currently a homeless colony on the railroad tracks just yards from the property,” he said.

D’Ambrosio said many of those homeless people have been prescreened for the restorative housing program, which he said would provide services such as vocational training, psychiatric treatment and counseling, and drug counseling, although he reiterated the building would not be a detox facility.

“There is a vetting process, (participants) cannot have open criminal or violent records, and if they violate the law, they will be removed from the program,” said D’Ambrosio. “One of the biggest arguments is that they don’t want people in their backyards, but they are already in the backyard with the homeless colony at the railroad tracks in the woods.”

Still, Arcadia street residents do not want the facility on their dead end street, no matter how it is defined under the zoning regulations.

At Tuesday’s site plan meeting, Arcadia Street resident Stephen Fiore spoke as a representative for the neighborhood. Fiore said there were about 55 residents of the neighborhood who attended the meeting.

“I myself, along with most if not all of my neighbors, are in favor of a facility like this; I feel like we need to take care of our most vulnerable,” said Fiore. “What I don’t agree upon is putting it in the middle of a residential neighborhood, a dead end street that is filled with children, small Cape houses, and single-family houses with no place for the people to go.”

Fiore said a facility such as the one being proposed would be better off in a more centrally placed location with more police patrols and better lighting, not on a dead end street.

While speaking in front of the review committee, Fiore said he wanted to make sure that the city holds the applicant to task to make sure they meet all building and public safety codes.

The project will also be coming before the Conservation Commission in March.

“We can’t let fear be the enemy of progress in helping people,” said D’Ambrosio.

In a letter dated Feb. 8, Revere Building Commissioner Louis Cavagnaro stated that the proposed use met the qualifications for Dover Amendment protection.

“While Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance will be the tenant, Bay Cove Human Services will provide life skills and tenancy education to residents by live-in staff members,” stated Cavagnaro. “Such educational purposes by a leasing nonprofit educational corporation qualifies for Dover Amendment protections.”

Fiore said that he and the neighborhood will continue to fight against the project, and that the opposition has nothing to do with politics.

“This has to do with protecting our children, to make sure my two 19-month-old twins live in a safe neighborhood and the city makes sure that they are safe and you guys protect us,” said Fiore. “We have 142 signatures on a petition right now to oppose this project. Our goal is hoping for them to withdraw it and put it in a better-suited neighborhood.”

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