Sober homes, while not especially common in the city, have been found to sometimes establish themselves unofficially and hide in plain sight.

At a City Council Committee on Ordinances and Legislation meeting on April 7, subcommittee members asked Building Commissioner Glenn Hathaway and Corporation Counsel Alan Rumsey if city ordinances that apply to lodging houses — under which sober homes are included — should be tightened.

Rumsey explained that throughout the SouthCoast and in cities like Fall River and New Bedford, “sober homes have basically said the zoning laws don’t apply to them.” To Rumsey, who cited previously litigation before the subcommittee, asserted that municipalities are “free to define” what a sober house is, and whether building code requirements, such as sprinkler systems, are required in houses providing shelter to residents maintaining drug or alcohol sobriety.

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