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Rental crowding issue targeted
Officials gain power to limit numbers
By Missy Ryan, Globe Correspondent | October 27, 2005

Milford officials have been given new powers to curb overcrowding in rental housing, a problem they say threatens to ruin neighborhoods.

''We're at a crossroads in the town of Milford, and if we don't do something soon, I think the opportunity will be lost. It's very important," Dino DeBartolomeis, chairman of the selectmen, told Town Meeting voters Monday before they approved stricter regulations affecting rental housing.

Town officials say they have been grappling with a flood of complaints about apartments packed with up to 20 people apiece. Residents have made nearly 200 e-mail and phone complaints about excessive noise, trash, cars parked on lawns, and even residents keeping livestock.

''It's just not a good situation," DeBartolomeis said, adding that the amendment to the town bylaws approved by Town Meeting voters also sought to crack down on unscrupulous landlords who overcharge tenants living in the crowded units.

DeBartolomeis said action needs to be taken against overcrowding to ensure ''preservation of our neighborhoods and the associated quality of life."

The crackdown is occurring as the town of about 27,000 is attempting to deal with an influx of immigrants, largely from Latin America.

Milford was home to 1,100 Latinos when the 2000 Census was taken. That number may be larger now as newcomers continue to arrive from Brazil and Ecuador. Between 800 and 1,000 immigrants from Ecuador now live in Milford, Ecuadoran consulate officials have estimated.

The town's streets boast new shops selling salsa music and Spanish-language books, bakeries selling Brazilian sweets, and a growing number of money transfer agencies from which immigrants can wire money to families back home.

Town officials acknowledge that the housing issue is linked to the influx of immigrants. But they insist they are simply trying to improve conditions for everyone and say the new regulations will protect residents both old and new.

The overcrowding issue gained momentum recently when Paul Mazuchelli, the town's public health director, reported a spike in the number of cases of tuberculosis, a bacterial disease that can be spread in the air from one person to another, especially among people living in close quarters.

According to a study carried out by the Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Milford, 11 new cases of tuberculosis were detected in Milford from July 2004 to July 2005.

''As more immigrants make Milford their home, a trend of more and more residents squeezing into homes has emerged," Mazzuchelli wrote in a recent report on the overcrowding issue. ''Overcrowding has always been addressed in the past years, but recently it has gotten progressively worse."

The bylaw amendment passed late Monday night at a Town Meeting during which no members of the town's immigrant community spoke up. It requires landlords who own the town's 1,200 rental units to pay $50 for a one-year, renewable registration from the Board of Health.

The board will issue a permit specifying a maximum occupancy according to state sanitary codes and local regulations, and that permit must be clearly posted in the housing unit.

Landlords or tenants who violate the occupancy limit can be fined up to $300 a day, and officials may suspend or cancel a landlord's permit following an investigation or hearing.

The new regulations are a marked change from the town's existing approach to enforcing occupancy rules. Up to now, officials simply have reacted to complaints when they occurred and asked landlords to get rental units in compliance.

Only one voter voiced opposition to the amendment, saying she was afraid landlords would pass increased costs along to tenants.

One affordable housing and tenant advocate said that towns with growing Latino populations need to find a way to communicate directly with their new residents.

Juan Leyton, executive director of City Life-Vida Urbana in Boston, said that often the root cause of overcrowding, and local reactions to it, is a lack of affordable housing. He was concerned that measures to avert overcrowding ''can be used to discriminate against people, too; it's a double-edged sword."

Voters also passed several other articles that could affect the town's immigrant community. One amendment to the town's zoning bylaws outlaws check-cashing agencies that are not part of an established bank.

Selectman William Buckley said the ban -- prompted by two cases of unlicensed check cashers -- makes Milford one of a handful of Massachusetts towns that do not allow check cashers, which are often used by immigrants who don't have bank accounts.

In other Town Meeting action, voters approved a fine of up to $200 for the opening or collection of trash by anyone except for town employees or contractors. The measure, selectmen said, was prompted by concerns about identity theft.

Voters also authorized the hiring of a new assistant zoning enforcement officer.