Power shut off to CT tiny home village for homeless as residents fight order to leave

Residents of a first-of-its-kind tiny home village for individuals experiencing homelessness are without power after the city of New Haven sent a cease and desist letter ordering residents to vacate the tiny homes, which have fallen out of compliance with the State Building Code.

Mark Colville of the Amistad Catholic Worker house said United Illuminating cut power to the tiny homes at 9:24 a.m. Thursday morning. According to Colville, the shutoff came minutes after the state notified the Rosette Neighborhood Village that they were processing the organization’s appeal to keep the structures on site.

The six prefabricated tiny homes, known as Rossette Neighborhood Village, have stood in the backyard of the Amistad house since October of 2023. For the last six months, the shelters have operated under a 180-day temporary structure permit from the state.

That permit expired on Monday. On Tuesday, a state marshal served the Amistad with a cease and desist letter from city hall ordering Rosette Street residents to vacate the units within 24 hours. The city also asked United Illuminating to discontinue utility service to the dwellings.

Colville described the shutoff as “evil” and “inhumane.”

“What possible reason could you have for shutting off the people’s electricity during a heat wave?” Colville said. “Rather than wait for (the appeal) to run its course, (the mayor) decided to lay siege to the unhoused.”

Colville said the loss of power could be a matter of life or death for one tiny home resident who has sleep apnea and requires a CPAP machine to ensure that he can breathe through the night.

Colville said Rosette Neighborhood Village is seeking an injunctive order against the city to force the mayor to turn the electricity back on while their appeal with the state is being processed.

“We’re not going to leave,” Colville said. “We’re going to take the fight right to his home, right to his office. All options are on the table in terms of nonviolent direct action.”

In an interview with the Courant, Mayor Justin Elicker said that a variance from the city’s board of zoning appeals made the tiny homes “legal from a zoning perspective,” however, he said the expiration of the state’s 180-day permit now means that structures are no longer “compliant from a state building code perspective.”

“The state made it very clear that there would be no extensions,” Elicker said. “We don’t grant any exceptions to state building code, the state does that, but we are required to enforce the building code.”

The letter warned that the city may prosecute violations of the cease and desist order by enlisting the assistance of legal counsel or the Office of the State’s Attorney. According to the letter, failures “to comply with the written order of a building inspector” and violations of the State Building Code can result in a fine of $200 to $1,000, up to six months imprisonment, or both.

Elicker said Thursday the city has no plans to prosecute Rosette Street residents or bulldoze the site.

“Unless there was some very egregious threat to human health or safety, the city is not going to go on the property and arrest people or dismantle the (structures),” Elicker said.

Elicker said the city plans to enforce the order by discontinuing utility service, issuing a $100 fine and placing a lien on the property.

In a statement forwarded by city hall, Leigh Appleby, the director of communications for the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services, which oversees the Office of the State Building Inspector, said the state only authorizes temporary structures for 180 days. Once temporary permits expire, Appleby said the structures “must be taken down.”

Appleby said structures that remain erected beyond this period “must meet the State Building Code for permanent structures.”

Appleby said the tiny homes on Rosette Street “do not meet the structural strength thresholds for wind and snow loads, foundation requirements, energy efficiency requirements for thermal insulation, fire resistance rated walls, and sanitary provisions.”

“Permitting of projects is the responsibility of the municipal building department, which enforces the State Building Code in their jurisdictional area,” Appleby said. “People have a reasonable expectation that all structures they enter are safe. Building codes are put in place to ensure just that. It is the responsibility of municipal building officials to assure that all structures are up to code and are safe environments for all occupants.”

“While we sympathize with the residents of these temporary structures, we understand that the city Housing and Homeless Services department stands ready to assist with longer-term options,” Apple added.

In a separate statement to the Courant Thursday evening, Appleby said the department had received an unofficial appeal from Rosette Neighborhood Village.

Appleby said the department is processing the appeal “in the background” while the Rosette Neighborhood Village completes the official paperwork.

“Appeals of decisions by municipal building officials and fire marshals, and by the State Building Inspector and State Fire Marshal are required to be reviewed by the Codes and Standards Committee; not department staff,” Appleby said. “Any appeal would need to be heard at a future committee meeting.”

Eight residents currently live in the six prefabricated tiny homes on the Amistad’s property. The structures are designed by the for-profit company Pallet and resemble free-standing dorm rooms. The shelters have no in-house bathroom or kitchen — that is located steps away in the main Amistad house — but there is a bed, ample storage, heating, cooling, electric outlets, a fire alarm and a carbon monoxide detector.

According to Pallet, each unit should last more than 10 years and is designed to withstand 110-mile-per-hour winds, 25 pounds per square foot of snow and temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero. They are also resistant to mold, rot and pests.

Elicker said the city has worked to expand affordable housing and shelter and support services for residents experiencing homelessness.

“We all have the same goal of supporting people that are struggling with challenges around housing in our community,” Elicker said. “In my view, we should be working collaboratively on these challenges and there’s a lot more work around the state that needs to be done to really move the dial on supporting people that are struggling with housing.”

In a joint statement Tuesday, Rosette Street residents said tiny homes should be part of the city’s framework to solve homelessness.

“It is hard for us to understand … why our mayor continues to stubbornly ignore what is being widely hailed as one of the most cost-effective, simple, innovative, neighborhood-based and timely initiatives addressing homelessness that this city has seen in decades,” the residents said.

“Most of us know  very well the trauma of being criminalized and evicted simply for having no place to go. For us, Rosette Village means the end of that brutal way of life,” they said. “Now we do have a place we’re proud to call it home, and we intend to defend it.”

*Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from the city on the status of he Rosette Neighborhood Village appeal.