Fairfield residents plan to fight Newport Academy proposal for treatment facilities
FAIRFIELD — While the city may have agreed to a settlement with Newport Academy, residents say the fight against the company planning to have residential treatment facilities in Greenfield Hills is far from over.
“We intend, as an organization and with many neighbors who have come forward over the past two weeks, to go as far as possible,” said Meghan McCloat, a resident of Greenfield Hills. “We think it’s a big enough problem.”
Greenfield Hills residents argue that Newport’s obtaining a special zoning permit for the two facilities without going through the city plan and zoning commission puts similarly zoned areas at risk of seeing businesses commercial buildings built in their backyard.
The city initially approved Newport’s building permits because city employees believed it was a group home application, which does not require going through the normal TPZ process. The city later refused to issue Newport a certificate of occupancy, which the company said was discriminatory because other treatment facilities operate in Fairfield.
Neighbors for Neighborhood Preservation, a nonprofit started in response to Newport Academy’s plans, appealed to the zoning appeal board because they said the city shouldn’t have issue building permits. The ZBA upheld the decision to issue permits for the project, which the group is now challenging in court.
In a statement, Newport spokeswoman Kristen Hayes said the company is eager to open the facilities.
“As just this week, the United States Surgeon General expressed deep concern over the devastating impact of the COVID pandemic on the mental health of young people and emphasized the importance of access to care, we look forward to providing high quality mental health treatment. to this great community,” she said.
McCloat, a leader with Neighbors for Neighborhood Preservation, said residents were very concerned that the company was circumventing zoning regulations.
“A major misconception about this problem is that people think it’s just a problem from Greenfield Hills to Fairfield,” she said. “That couldn’t be further from the case.”
McCloat said the group spent $150,000 in legal fees to challenge the proposal. She said they now aim to raise an additional $100,000 to continue challenging the ZBA’s decision and appealing the city’s settlement, likely arguing that the city lacks the authority to issue Newport. Academy a certificate of occupation.
Newport Academy plans to open two six-bed treatment facilities on Congress Street and Redding Road, according to documents filed with the state. Both venues were purchased by Monroe RE LLC, a subsidiary of Newport Academy, in January 2019 for a total cost of $5.45 million.
The facilities, which are segregated by gender, would accommodate patients between the ages of 18 and 26 with mental disorders and concurrent disorders, including substance use disorders. Records indicate that facilities would provide clinical programming by on-site staff and that patients would be expected to stay an average of 60 days.
Neighbors of these proposed facilities argued that Newport misrepresented itself as group homes to the city because Newport obtained a certificate of need from the state, which McCloat says is not required. for such residences.
James White, another NNP leader, said Newport relies on the disability protections enjoyed by group homes. He said residents would have no problem with that if Newport planned to operate a “true group home”.
City attorney Jim Baldwin said the city is facing two lawsuits from Monroe RE LLC. One challenged the refusal to issue a certificate of occupancy. It was linked to Newport’s claims that the facilities do not require special exemption zoning permits and federal law allows it to avoid the public verification process associated with city plan and commission review. zoning.
He said Newport also claimed the city’s refusal to issue a certificate of occupancy was discriminatory because other treatment facilities operate in Fairfield. The company filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging that Fairfield violated federal and state housing and disability discrimination laws. He also filed a complaint with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which launched a formal investigation into the city’s alleged discriminatory housing practices.
Baldwin said the city had been vigorously fighting the lawsuit for a year, but based on the uncertainty of the litigation and consultation with outside legal counsel, the settlement represented the “best possible outcome in the circumstances.”
As part of the settlement, Newport will be allowed to operate its group homes in accordance with zoning and land use regulations consistent with other single family homes in Greenfield Hills. The city also agreed to pay Newport $1.5 million in damages.
In a virtual meeting Thursday evening, first coach Brenda Kupchick listened to residents’ concerns in light of the settlement with Newport Academy. Although she said she appreciated their feelings on this, the town had little choice.
“We have been fighting this problem since I took office,” she said. “We faced a discrimination lawsuit against a protected class of people with disabilities in the lawsuit, as well as a federal lawsuit for discrimination and violation of the Fair Housing Act. I don’t know what more I can say. It was a serious trial.