DISPUTE OVER NEW FAIRFIELD RECOVERY CENTER

Attorney Says Cease-And-Desist Order Is Illegal And Discriminatory

NEW FAIRFIELD - Closing a recovery center for former substance
abusers would be a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act,
according to a Washington, D.C. attorney.

"They are trying to kick them out of their house," said Steven Polin
about the recovering addicts who live in Peter Soyak's home on Gillotti Road.

The town issued Soyak a cease-and-desist order April 13.

"It's all illegal," Polin said Wednesday about the order.

On Tuesday, Polin faxed letters to the town's zoning enforcement
officer and first selectman asking to discuss the matter with them
and wants the cease and desist order put on hold.

"I am prepared to enjoin the Town's action in federal court," Polin's
letter stated. "Hopefully, based on the contents of this letter, that
drastic action will not be necessary."

Soyak, who has four recovering addicts at his house as part of a
state-run program funded by the federal government, agrees the town
is discriminating against them.

He says town and school officials' fears because the campus of New
Fairfield Middle School and High School is near his house are unjustified.

"We're not giving out any airborne diseases," said Soyak about the
residents who feel his house, a Recovery Living Center, is a "safe"
place to get well. "Kids are not coming around and you can't even see
the schools from my house."

Polin said many recovery houses are near schools and the proximity of
Soyak's house to the schools is not a danger.

But town and school officials disagree. First Selectman John Hodge
said he is not against having recovery houses for former addicts in
town but that this location near two schools and sports fields is not
appropriate.

Hodge is researching whether the site of the recovery house violates
the federal No Child Left Behind law. That law, says Hodge,
stipulates that school children are entitled to a safe and drug-free
environment.

The cease and desist order Soyak received said he violated
residential zoning regulations by running a home-occupation business
without permits and with an excessive number of residents.

But Soyak said he had spoken with people in the zoning office last
year about his plans for the house and he felt there would not be a problem.

When schools superintendent Joseph Castagnola learned about the
recovery center, he sent out a letter informing students' parents and
guardians. Though he said, "We need to be compassionate," Castagnola
questioned the house's location and wrote, "my agenda is to keep the
kids safe."

Polin, who is Soyak's attorney, hadn't seen the letter but knew about
its contents. "It's pretty blatant," Polin said and is based "on stereotypes."

Under 1988 amendments to the Federal Fair Housing Act, Polin said,
recovering drug addicts and alcoholics fall under the definition of
"handicapped" and have a right "to live in a residence of their
choice within the community."

But Hodge said Soyak's house "doesn't rise to the definition of a
group home," because residents pay for their stay individually -
through state vouchers - rather than as a group, and because they
have "no say over who is living with them."

Meanwhile, the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction
Services, which administers the recovery housing program, is
reviewing operations at the Gillotti Road house because of the town's concerns.

For the next two weeks, the department plans to review the state's
policies and procedures for the program, and is suspending acceptance
of new housing applications.

Connecticut has 87 recovery houses in the program.