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Upcoming Homestead meeting too little, too late

March 16, 2017

I am a member of the group that was protesting the Truitt Homestead assisted living development on Shuttle Road. Long story short, those individuals who may have been impacted by this development, those living 250 feet from the site, received letters back in November advising them of a meeting by the Sussex County Board of Adjustment regarding this development. That meeting was then rescheduled to Dec. 19. Not knowing that the addition of a 120-bed assisted living facility was on the agenda, few attended. And those who did were not prepared to adequately make the proper case.

After that meeting the community – now aware of the "addition" that Truitt had back-doored to the board – attempted to make their case that this commercial facility would have serious impacts on our residential community. We wrote many letters, attended board meetings, and protested in the streets of Shuttle Road. The board, using rules that the average citizen is not aware of, dismissed our concerns and ignored our letters. We had missed the unknown Dec. 19 deadline, so our concerns would not be heard. After three meetings at which the decision was postponed, the board finally approved the adjustment.

Our group then consulted with a lawyer to see if there was another way to be heard. After considering legal advice, it was decided that we would probably spend $12,000 to $15,000 only to have the board reject our concerns once again. So we accepted that this is, unfortunately, the way Sussex County good ol' boy network operates. We tried, we lost.

OK done. Then I receive the email below that clearly is being sent beyond the 250-foot prior limit of the original "impacted" community:

"Dear Arlyce Dubbin,

I am writing to invite you to an informational meeting on the Truitt Homestead community along Shuttle Road in Rehoboth Beach. The meeting will be held Saturday, March 25, at the Kings Creek Country Club Clubhouse from 9 to 11 a.m.

Greg and Rita Stevens of Vantage Point Retirement Living (and partners within the assisted living component of the Truitt Homestead project) and I, an owner of both the single-family-home project and assisted living facility, will be available at the meeting to discuss our plans for the community. The meeting will commence with a presentation from Greg, Rita and me walking the audience through the project and discussing timing, architecture, traffic generation, construction hours, lighting and other aspects of the community. Following our presentations, we will open up the meeting for questions and will answer reasonable questions the audience may have.

Please understand that this meeting is intended to inform the general public of the project as well as address the concerns voiced by opponents related to traffic and other elements of the development. We respectfully request that all attendees act in a cordial and respectful manner during the meeting. Signage and other distractions or nuisances that we feel will detract from the professional nature and purpose of the meeting will not be permitted.

Thank you and we hope to see you at the meeting.
Respectfully,
Preston Schell
Managing Member
Truitt Homestead, LLC"

And in the mail the next day, I received the same letter, as did everyone in my community. The letter reflects their total disregard for voiced community concerns. They have successfully manipulated the approval process, and now they are trying to appease residents that they successfully silenced.

Arlyce Dubbin
Rehoboth Beach

 

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