A homeless shelter will be able to move down the block from one church to another and grow to 26 beds from 16, the Somerville Zoning Board of Appeals decided unanimously Wednesday.
That meant rejecting an appeal by six neighbors that the move was being allowed only through misapplication of the so-called “Dover Amendment,” which can exempt educational and religious organizations such as the church from zoning laws. Leasing space to the Somerville Homeless Coalition for a shelter was not a primary or dominant purpose of the First Church of Somerville, argued Anne Vigorito of Richard D. Gi Girolamo Attorneys, and allowing the use opened the door for possible abuses if a conservative church came to Somerville.
That reasoning was rejected by Shawn McCormack, of the law firm of Davis Malm, representing the proponents of the shelter, as well as by the board’s counsel and ultimately by the board itself after an hour-and-a-half hearing. Supporting people of different economic means is mentioned explicitly on the First Church website, board member Zac Zaremba noted.
The argument by neighbors appealing against a June decision to allow the shelter was also rejected by several people who called in to support the shelter – a few of whom referred to the opposition to it as “disgusting.”
That drew a rebuke from Zaremba. “I’ve heard a lot of people tonight speak in judgment against the appellants for having concerns about the shelter opening. I do want to say that I empathize with them as well, and I understand their concerns. I don’t find it disgusting that they’re coming to us and asking for our input,” Zaremba said. “I think anybody would be concerned to have a homeless shelter open in their neighbor.”
The shelter is moving from the Holy Bible Baptist Church, less than 500 feet away at 64 College Ave. The shelter has been there for 40 years but is in a state of disrepair and cannot be expanded, the coalition said.
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