Selectmen approve building official’s execution of reasonable-accommodation agreement for proposed sober-living home at 8 Butler St.

The Town of Blackstone Board of Selectmen on March 11 authorized the building commissioner to execute a draft reasonable-accommodation agreement for a proposed 33-bed sober-living facility at 8 Butler Street.

The agreement, developed with town counsel and the applicant, sets occupancy limits, requires on-site management staff and background/warrant screening, and includes provisions for a six-foot privacy fence and off-site parking to limit street parking in the neighborhood. Town counsel said the draft was intended to balance the town’s interests with obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the federal Fair Housing Act.

Why it matters: The proposal has drawn extended public attention and multi-hour community meetings. The accommodation request seeks to permit the use while the town attempts to address neighbors’ concerns about safety, parking and building impacts through enforceable conditions.

Town counsel Ethan Divali of Harrington Heap described the central terms: the facility would provide one manager and at least one assistant manager depending on occupancy, require residents to consent to warrant checks and to self-disclose certain serious criminal convictions, and include screening between the facility and nearby single-family homes. Divali said the draft “specifies the number of residents that the property can accommodate, the amount of management and oversight that would be required,” and that it “represents a reasonable middle ground between what the town … would like to see and what the applicant is able to provide.”

Divali and the board also discussed building and fire-code compliance. The building commissioner told the board he would work with the fire department and legal counsel to ensure any code-required upgrades are met and defensible under state regulations. The board’s vote directs the building official to execute the agreement and provide a copy to the applicant.

What the agreement requires: screening (six-foot privacy fence along the rear lot line and along the southerly property line of 12 Butler Street), limits on vehicle assignment to residents with town-accessible records to address street parking, background/warrant checks for residents and manager staffing minimums. Town counsel said residents who falsify required disclosures could be asked to leave as a breach of their housing agreement.

Reaction and next steps: Selectmen and several residents said they preferred negotiation and oversight rather than litigation or a forced outcome; one board member said the negotiations allowed the town to secure “the majority of things we asked for, everything under the law.” The vote to authorize the building commissioner to sign was unanimous. The building commissioner and the fire department will review code, permit and safety issues as the project proceeds.

The board’s authorization does not itself change zoning; it instructs the building official to finalize the accommodation agreement and share it with the applicant. The agreement and any subsequent permits will be subject to building- and fire-code review and any required inspections before an occupancy permit can be issued.