Danbury ad hoc committee hears officials on surge in illegal apartments, enforcement gaps and possible higher fines

Danbury City ad hoc committee Chairman Peter Bizaid opened a second meeting on illegal apartments, saying the panel would review how zoning and public-health rules interact as the city confronts growing numbers of informal dwelling units.

The zoning enforcement officer, Sean Herrity, told the committee the city treats tips from neighbors and 311 calls as the typical trigger for investigations and that the unit currently has “about 85 open illegal apartments.” He described the enforcement ladder—site inspections, notices of violation, citations under city ordinance (up to $150 per violation) and, for persistent cases, cease-and-desist orders that can lead to court action after appeals to the zoning board of appeals. Herrity said about 60–70% of cases have written orders, that roughly 70% of orders are cease-and-desist types and that about half of those are past their compliance dates.

Herrity and other officials noted enforcement challenges rooted in code definitions. The zoning code defines a dwelling unit by the presence of living, dining, kitchen and bathroom facilities for the exclusive use of occupants; the family definition allows related persons or a group of up to four unrelated people living as a single housekeeping unit. Herrity said residents or tenants who claim family relationships can make enforcement difficult. “Compliance, not punishment,” he said, describing efforts to use notices and education first while reserving ordinances and heavier penalties for willful repeat violators.

Health department staff described parallel tools and risks. Fernanda Carvallo, director of health and human services, explained that the city enforces the Connecticut Public Health Code and local housing ordinances, and that a rooming house requires an annual license and inspection. Ryan, the health department’s associate director for environmental health, said the housing maintenance code defines a dwelling unit and sets minimum habitable-room standards and that the department’s inspections are often complaint-driven and require tenant access or a legal order to enter.

Carvallo also highlighted a significant fiscal and humanitarian constraint: the state Uniform Relocation Assistance rules can require the municipality to provide advisory and financial relocation help for long-term displacement resulting from code enforcement. “Up to $4,000 per family,” she said, noting the city has not yet paid URA funds for a recent example the committee discussed.

Committee members pressed officials on policy options. Council members suggested stepped fines, higher ordinance penalties targeted at willful violators and coordinated outreach for immigrant communities who may not understand local rules. Several members raised parking shortages in older neighborhoods and overflowing garbage as practical indicators of overcrowding; officials said property owners are responsible for adequate receptacles and that inspectors use visible signs—dishes on porches, multiple refrigerators, bedroom locks—to prioritize investigations.

Officials described a weekly multi-department enforcement meeting—zoning, fire, building and health—to coordinate cases once locations are identified. Fire and building officials, the committee heard, step in when a use triggers fire-code or construction issues; health assesses overcrowding and septic sizing tied to bedroom counts.

On legal remedies, staff said large penalties require ordinance changes or court actions. Herrity and others recommended pursuing ordinances that would allow higher, tiered penalties for repeat willful violations; a staff member told the group that state law was amended in 2023 to raise available maximum penalties for housing-code violations (staff are drafting an implementing ordinance).

The committee voted by voice to continue the ad hoc to hear from the unit director, Sean Stillman, at a later date and adjourned.

What happens next: the ad hoc will reconvene to hear Stillman and consider a proposed ordinance to increase penalties and formalize a tiered approach for repeat, willful violators. The meeting also signaled a push for outreach materials in multiple languages to reduce accidental noncompliance.