Ruling may force hundreds out of Cape Cod motels
Panel suspends owner's license
YARMOUTH - At the back of the motel room where Kerri Blackwell, her husband, and four young daughters have lived for more than a year, behind the mounds of laundry, the cans sorted for recycling, and the crib where the 10-month-old baby sleeps, the family has posted a handwritten sign.
It says: "Blackwell's Palace."
"It's not much, but it's the best we could find," said Kerri Blackwell, 37, who works at a nearby Dunkin' Donuts shop and says she cannot find a more affordable apartment in the area. "There should be a better place for us to live, but we can't afford the first month, last month, and security deposit to get in. Or the utilities. The rents we've seen are up to 2,000 a month."
The Blackwells don't want to leave the Cavalier Motel, but they may have no choice. Yesterday, the Board of Health in Yarmouth, citing a year-old law that prohibits motel owners from renting units beyond 30 consecutive days to customers without a permanent address, voted to suspend the motel's license, potentially forcing the Blackwells and 250 other low-income people from the Cavalier and two other motels in town.
Board officials have rejected pleas from community members, some of whom shouted from the audience yesterday, "Shame on you" and "May God forgive you." They said they had no choice and were just following laws passed by the town's selectmen, some of whom defended the board's vote after the meeting.
"We're not pushing anyone out to the curb; we're just not going to issue motel licenses to those who aren't acting as motels," said Suzanne McAuliffe, chairwoman of Yarmouth's Board of Selectmen. "The living conditions of some of the people in these motels are horrendous. We want them to live in adequate places. This is about shutting down dangerous, substandard, health-hazard-inducing housing."
Town officials acknowledged there had been no health violation at any of the three motels.
Harry Miller, owner of the three properties, said he plans to appeal the board's decision in Barnstable Superior Court. Town officials said the 150 residents at the Cavalier, 22 people at the Seagull Beach Motel, and 70 guests at West Yarmouth Lodgings will be able to stay during the appeals process.
At the meeting in the basement of Town Hall yesterday, Miller said his motels should be exempt from the new law, because he received town approval to renovate them in order to provide affordable housing to those who need a place to say for several months. He said that he has appeared before numerous town boards over the years and that everyone knew he was allowing guests to stay longer than 30 days.
"I will fight this as long and as hard as possible," Miller told the four board members, who voted unanimously to suspend his motel licenses. "I am not going to give in."
When Charles Kelliher, Health Board vice chairman, said the residents of his motels could find other places to live, Miller responded: "No offense, but what have you been smoking? It's May on Cape Cod. Where are you going to find them housing?"
At least one resident at the meeting supported the board's decision, saying Miller was keeping malcontents in town and forcing police to spend more time at his motels than in other parts of town.
"We don't want them here," said Tom Sullivan, a Yarmouth resident, who was shouted down from the podium by residents who called him a nimby, for "not in my backyard."
Afterward, Sullivan said: "My concern is for what goes on in those motels. There are drug overdoses and other problems, and I don't want to see any police officer get shot. We need to set standards. These people should move."
Deputy Police Chief Frank Frederickson said crime has been a problem at some of the town's 58 motels, but he would not single out the Cavalier or Miller's other motels. "They're on par with other year-round motels," he said.
Those who supported Miller said local officials were acting because they wanted to raise more money from the motels, which do not have to pay taxes for guests who stay longer than 90 days.
Ann Rebello, a Yarmouth resident at the meeting, asked board members how they could live with their decision, which she said would force out 80 children, several people in wheelchairs, and at least one woman who requires an oxygen tank to breathe.
"Shame on you," she shouted at board members before they forced her to step away from the podium.
Afterward, she said: "What they're trying to do is unjust. It's all about money. They would rather have tourists."
With little space available at shelters throughout the state, it is not uncommon for homeless families to stay in motels.
Yesterday, 128 families in Massachusetts were staying in motels at state expense, according to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Some are staying at the Cavalier.
Mary McGowan, who has lived there since Dec. 31, 2006, after losing her home and allegedly becoming a victim of domestic abuse, said she is comfortable.
"The staff here are unbelievable," she said. "The owner has done very well in maintaining the property. If the town wants all of us living out on the highway, it's not going to help their publicity to attract tourists. They need to know that the Cape wasn't meant just for the wealthy."
Peter Stravinski has been at the Cavalier since May 1, 2007, and fears that his only other option is to return to the shelter in Hyannis.
"This is one of the nicest places I've ever stayed," he said. "It's very scary to imagine having to go back to the shelter, very scary, very scary."
David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com. 