Waterbury, CT - Orthodox Jews Look To Make Mikvah

Waterbury, CT - Members of Waterbury's growing Orthodox Jewish enclave hope to turn a little gray ranch-style home at the end of Roseland Avenue into a place of ritual purification, further cementing their community's future in the city. But first, they will need permission of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The house lies in a Residential Low Density zoning district, where only single- and two-family homes would be allowed under city building rules. The group that bought the house hopes to use an exemption that allows houses of worship to establish virtually anywhere.
The house is slated to become a Mikvah, essentially a place of ritual purification that contains a pool in which visitors dip themselves.

In 2001, a small Orthodox community was invited to lease the former University of Connecticut campus on Hillside Avenue to establish its religious school, Yeshiva Gedolah. The agreement between the Yeshiva and the city came with conditions, including that the Orthodox community bring in 100 families within seven years. Less than six years later, that goal has been exceeded.

Even though the Mikvah is a religious use, it still is subject to certain building codes and on July 19, representatives for the Waterbury Community Mikvah LLC will ask the city's Zoning Board of Appeals for a few waivers.
The 8,945-square-foot lot is only about one-fourth the size normally required for a property hosting a religious structure, and the house doesn't meet setback requirements from the street or its neighbors.
These restrictions were put in place to mitigate noise issues associated with houses of worship that would host large crowds in short periods, City Planner James Sequin said. Here, the planned use would have far less impact on neighbors than was anticipated under zoning rules, he said. "This is not going to be a synagogue with congregations of people coming," Sequin said. "It's not like a bathhouse. It's not like a health spa. It's like a purification ceremony done by appointment."