Speaker Shekarchi introduces bill to smooth the way for future Pallet Shelter projects

"These pallet shelters are clearly not a hotel," said the Speaker. "They need to have their own specialized fire safety code."

Next Wednesday, after months of delays and years of work, House Of Hope CDC will be cutting the ribbon on ECHO Village, 45 free standing one person housing units that will provide shelter and wraparound services for people experiencing homelessness. During December’s meeting of the Special Legislative Commission To Study Housing Affordability the state drilled down on the reasons for the delay, which had to do with state building codes that were never designed to accomodate such structures.

To avoid such delays on future projects, Speaker of the House Joseph Shekarchi introduced a bill, H5100, to cut through these difficulties. The bill authorizes “municipalities to make an emergency declaration under limited circumstances to allow for the construction and use of SAVE Units on a temporary basis, which have specialized requirements and exemptions from the State fire and building codes.”

It is rare for a Speaker of the House to introduce a bill in committee, which shows how important the Speaker felt the bill was. He spoke before last night’s House Committee on Housing and Municipal Government. Here’s the video, followed by a transcript edited for clarity:

Speaker Joseph Shekarchi: I'm here to testify in favor of House Bill 5100, the SAVE Units Act. This bill would create a specialized code for Pallet Shelters. As everyone knows, we experienced an unprecedented rise in homelessness, and the State has acted - maybe not as swiftly as we all would hope - but has acted to create Pallet Shelters. Unfortunately, our fire codes and our building safety codes do not have a category for this.

When the Pallet Shelters were delayed, temperatures dropped, and homelessness rose significantly. In the month of December, I reached out to the fire marshal after a hearing by Chairwoman June Speakman's Committee and spoke to him as to what the problem was. He said that the application came in as a hotel. These pallet shelters are clearly not a hotel. They need to have their own specialized fire safety code.

We've done some research. We've crafted this bill in such a way that this would allow these Pallet Shelters to receive approval on an more expedited basis than they currently are. I contacted National Grid because I was told that they were the holdup. They, in fact, were not the holdup. I contacted the building code. My staff, along with all the people that I've spoken to, came up with this. We looked at other State's best practices.

This model is the beginning point, not the end. I know there are some letters of support and some letters with suggested amendments. I'm open to all of that - and I leave that decision to this committee to find out what the best practice is to move forward - but we need to address this issue. Unnecessary delays are not something we need to have, especially in this time of year, in this political climate we are in, in terms of the economic situation.

This legislation would allow municipalities to provide for such housing in a zoning district or by declaring an emergency, which can be in place for up to 180 days. It doesn't necessarily have to be for homelessness. People can be displaced because of a hurricane, severe flooding, or severe fires. The reports [to the Governor, Speaker and Senate President] are due from the chief executive office, from the mayor or town administrator, describing the actions taken and the number of people served. The municipality has to vote every 30 days to renew the local emergency. It needs the meet the specialized requirements of the building code, but is exempt from other provisions, so long as the state fire marshal and state building official confirm that the unit complies with these specialized provisions.

These provisions are climate controls, fire and carbon monoxide detectors, a locking door, an egress window, fire extinguishers, and are to be built in accordance with other specific requirements of electrical, plumbing and other codes, if applicable. Our current building and fire codes do not have specialized provisions that allow these units to be permitted, constructed in a cost effective or expedited manner to serve people with urgent needs and the bitter cold they are experiencing.

While exploring long-term solutions, people should not have to wait while we address this issue. I am pleasantly surprised and cautiously optimistic that the current Pallet Shelters will be opening in the next seven to 14 days, but this legislation will prevent this [delay] from happening again. I urge the committee to, in its final form, pass this legislation. I'd be happy to answer any questions the committee may have

Representative Jun Speakman: Thank you, Speaker, for bringing this legislation forward. As you know, the commission that I’m honored to chair had a hearing on this, and it was very frustrating to learn that there's not a code path for this. Other municipalities and states have it. So I'm grateful that you took this up. I note that there's a letter of support from Providence Mayor Brett Smiley¹.

Speaker Shekarchi: I want to point out that it was your hearing and your questions, and former Congressman David Ciccilini², who serves on your commission, was the genesis of this bill. But for your commission, this bill would not be before this committee today.

Here’s the video of those who testified in favor of the bill:

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1. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s support came in the form of a letter from James C. Moore III, Director of the Department of Inspection and Standards, who writes:

“I write this letter in strong support of House Bill 5100, entitled AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- STATE BUILDING CODE --ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT. This legislation, if passed, would authorize municipalities to declare an emergency under limited circumstances, allowing for the construction and temporary use of SAVE Units. These units have specialized requirements and exemptions from state fire and building codes.

“Providence's Department of Inspections and Standards would like to thank Speaker Shekarchi for his commitment to streamlining the process for emergency and temporary structures. The City of Providence, like many other communities, is facing a housing crisis exacerbated by a lack of temporary or emergency shelter space, often due to outdated building code restrictions. If passed, this bill will allow for a streamlined process for emergency shelter, saving lives and providing individuals with shelter when they need it most.

“The Department of Inspections and Standards would also like to make suggestions that, if addressed, could further strengthen this legislation, primarily regarding the safety of occupants. We understand that these structures will be used for short-term stays (30-60 days) and will serve individuals who may face challenges in responding to emergency situations, particularly fires. Our primary concerns relate to egress, specifically ensuring proper lighting and the ability for occupants to exit safely and efficiently in case of an emergency. Additionally, we would like to see further clarification on the early notification system, particularly regarding how emergency data will be transmitted to relevant City Departments.

“The Department of Inspections and Standards, along with the Mayor's Office, is eager to collaborate further on this bill. Once again, we extend our sincere appreciation to Speaker Shekarchi for his leadership on this critical issue.”

2. Here’s the questioning from David Cicilline that spurred the Speaker to action:

David Cicilline [Rhode Island Foundation]: In the comments that were just made concerning category, it’s hard to imagine that separate dwelling sites were somehow viewed as dormitories or hotels. The difference between a dormitory, a hotel, and individual housing sites is that they’re all in one building. I’m struggling to understand since this didn’t fit neatly into anything. Were there other categories - for example, a single dwelling unit - that were more descriptive of what was there that would have allowed the approval process to proceed more quickly? I think any common sense person would look at this and say this is not a dormitory or hotel. It’s confusing.

David Pastore [Fire Marshall]: The fire code is very confusing, and we struggle with it too. To answer your question, to be a single-family dwelling under the fire code, you have to have individual sleeping accommodations, you have to have a cooking area, and you have to have a bathroom. That’s not the case with this here. They’re separate buildings. And also, because it’s under the same management, it’s under hotel/dorm. Any group of buildings on a piece of property under the same management falls into the hotel/dorm.

David Cicilline: Concerning the 16 occupants that disqualified it, in your analysis, from being an emergency shelter, if you viewed each separately as an emergency shelter...

David Pastore: That makes sense. However, the fire code doesn’t give us the latitude or the opportunity to review it under that.

David Cicilline: I’d like to ask the Secretary of Housing - When all these issues arose, did anyone in the Department of Housing say, “We should come up with a proposal to facilitate this sort of approval process and bring something to the General Assembly.” The idea that this is not happening yet and we still don’t have a proposal from anybody in State government charged with facilitating this kind of project is alarming. We’ve had a year now. Other states have these - look at what they do and propose this as a legislative change if you think it is appropriate. Everyone’s acknowledging that it doesn’t fit neatly [yet] we are still not asking the General Assembly to approve something so we can do this with ease going forward, consistent with the provision of the code.

Deborah Goddard [Housing Secretary]: I can’t speak for my predecessor[s]. I started last Tuesday or Monday, but as I just said, that is where I want to go. We want to get an answer to this. That’s common sense.

David Cicilline: Thank you and the House of Hope, Laura, for your incredible persistence and passion. No one wants to say when it will open, but the approval was given in April; why isn’t it open? What are the problems? What caused this delay? Because the idea that I can’t give you an answer, frankly, to the people watching this - that’s not an acceptable answer. What are the impediments? What can we do collectively to help advance this? What’s the problem? Why isn’t it open?

Laura Jaworski [Executive Director at House of Hope]: I’ll defer to my partners at the Department of Business Regulation and Housing.