Old Saybrook Town Meeting Scheduled to Petition Group Home

OLD SAYBROOK - The Board of Selectmen have scheduled a special town meeting in order to call a vote to request that the license for a group home which is expected to soon open on Anchorage Lane be rescinded.

The meeting will be held on Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Saybrook Middle School Auditorium and was scheduled under Section 8-3(b)(3) of the Connecticut General Statues which allows opponents of a group home to petition it to a state agency if the opponents get approval from the legislative body.

In Old Saybrook, the legislative body is the town meeting.

The group home at 7 Anchorage Lane is expected to house five boys between the ages of 14 and 21 and would be operated by Gilead Community Services Inc., of Middletown.

The facility is applying for a license from the Department of Children and Families.

First Selectman Michael Pace said residents of Anchorage Lane have expressed concerns regarding the facility mainly focusing on safety as well as the proximity of the home to water, marinas, and Interstate 95.

Pace believes residents are not opposed to the idea of having a facility which helps people but rather they are opposed to its location.

Town Attorney Michael Cronin will moderate the town meeting and give his legal opinion regarding the state statue as well as respond to any legal questions residents may have.

Pace said a simple majority vote of registered voters would constitute approval from the town's legislative body.

Anchorage Lane residents have appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals in April to overturn the decision of Zoning Enforcement Officer Chris Costa to issue a zoning permit for the facility.

The board determined that Costa correctly issued the permit since the group home, according to state law, must be treated like a family.

This would not be the first group home in Old Saybrook, Pace said, adding that he has not heard complaints from neighbors about other facilities in town including those owned by the Connecticut Department of Mental Retardation.