The Road to Transitional Housing
The MMHC seeks to establish transitional housing for 3 to 4 families at the Belfast United Methodist Church at 23 Mill Lane. The City of Belfast is working on an ordinance that would allow such a use. The MMHC board and the church have been working with the city to create that ordinance and allow the establishment of transitional housing. The coalition also has to apply for and receive permission to run a transitional housing program for up to four families at 23 Mill Lane. That process is detailed below.
March 18, 2025 – Belfast City Council heard the second reading of the proposed ordinance to allow transitional housing at 23 Mill Lane (Belfast United Methodist Church.) The proposal passed 5-0. The council also waived fees for electrical and building permit fees, as well as the Planning Board fee. The MMHC can now return to the Planning Board Committee to be approved to seek a license to run a transitional housing program at 23 Mill Lane. The 14-minute video is below.
March 4, 2025 – Belfast City Council heard the proposed ordinance to allow transitional housing in the City of Belfast. An 19-minute video of this action is below. Next, the MMHC can go back to the City Council on March 18 to hear the Council hold a second reading, and perhaps to approve the ordinance. Is so, the next step is to return to the Planning Board to make an application to create a transitional housing facility at 23 Mill Lane. The 19-minute video is below.
February 12, 2025 – The Planning Board Committee held a public hearing about the proposed ordinance to allow transitional housing in Belfast. The Planning Board passed the proposal for the ordinance and sent it to the City Council meeting of March 11 for a first reading and public hearing. The council could hold a final vote on March 25. A 68-minute video of this February 12 meeting is below.
January 22, 2025 – The Belfast Planning Board took up the proposal from the Belfast City Council that a transitional housing ordinance should be created. The board, after much discussion, instructed Planning and Codes Director Bub Fournier to draft the ordinance and bring it back to their February 12 meeting, which will also be a public hearing about the proposal. A 93-minute video of that session is below.
January 21, 2025 – The MMHC board of directors brought presentations to a regular meeting of the Belfast City Council. The council then passed a motion 5-0 to send the issue to the Belfast Planning Board with the recommendation that the board create a transitional housing ordinance that will allow MMHC to create a facility for that use at Belfast United Methodist Church. A 46-minute video that session is below.
January 7, 2025 – The board of MMHC was on the agenda at the Belfast City Council meeting to request the city make it possible for the group to create a transitional housing facility at Belfast United Methodist Church. After hearing the board, the council asked the board to further detail its plans in specific areas and bring back a more complete presentation at the January 21 meeting of the council. Below is an ABC-7 / Fox-22 news story about that meeting.