PLYMOUTH, MA - A zoning conflict halted plans for a homeless shelter on Prince Street in North Plymouth, much to the relief of neighbors opposed to the proposal.
The delay may be temporary, but it will give selectmen time to draft a bylaw restricting where Level 3 sex offenders can live in Plymouth.
One of Plymouth's homeless men has been classified as a Level 3 offender, those considered by the state to be most likely to reoffend. Selectman Butch Machado says Prince Street is not the place for a Level 3 sex offender.
Taskforce for the Homeless officials had intended to ask town meeting April 4 for $300,000 of Community Preservation Act money to buy 9 Prince St. for the shelter that would house up to 10 men.
But they and Community Preservation Committee members asked that the request be postponed after learning the home is zoned as a single-family rather than a multifamily home. Until that conflict is resolved, they cannot move forward, Community Preservation Committee Chairman William Keohan told selectmen.
"The neighborhood is relieved," Prince Street resident Erica Manfredi told selectmen. "Prince Street, with its families, elderly, and children, and nearby school, is not the place for a homeless shelter."
Taskforce chairman Connie Melahoures said her group is working with neighbors and still hopes to have a workable plan for the Prince Street house by June.
"We hope to return in June with a proposal that's agreeable to neighbors and meets our goal to end homelessness in Plymouth," she said.
Source: EnterpriseNews.com