Rehoboth Shores residents say no to RVs

A plan to replace 260 manufactured-home lots with 367 seasonal RV lots in the Rehoboth Shores community has stirred up opposition among people who live along Long Neck Road.

Residents say the addition of RVs in an established manufactured-home community was not what they signed on for when they moved there. They made that message loud and clear during a March 22 county council public hearing.

Nanticoke Shores Associates LLC applied for a conditional use to convert the property for use by RVs. Council deferred on a decision, but at its March 24 meeting, the planning and zoning commission recommended denial of the application.

Gene Bayard, the applicant’s attorney, said the three major objections raised during the planning and zoning hearing – background checks, traffic and crime – have been addressed.

He said as with lots rented in the manufactured-home park, Nanticoke Shores Associates would complete background and credit checks on campers who lease lots. He said although many people complained about traffic, Delaware Department of Transportation has determined renting lots to RV campers would generate less traffic throughout the year than 260 full-time residential lots. In addition, he said, the owner plans to increase security in the park to cut down on crime.

Bayard said the application involved the development of 51 acres of undeveloped land.

A changing marketplace

David Podlaseck, regional manager for the owners Mid-Atlantic Shore Properties, said the marketplace is dictating a change from leased lots for manufactured homes to seasonal RV lots. He said the company has leased only four new lots in Rehoboth Shores over the past two years, but there is a viable market for leased RV space.

He said financing is hard to come by for those wanting to purchase manufactured homes on leased land, so more people are purchasing stick-built homes or manufactured homes on lots they own.

In addition, he said, the owners have purchased 30 repossessed homes within the park and are in the process of renovating them for sale or rent.

“The lot rent is not the problem,” he said. “It’s that the manufactured-home market has gone flat over the past several years.”

He said Rehoboth Shores has 80 vacant lots available, and other parks are having the same problem.

Some park residents testified that problems within the park were more of a factor than market conditions for the lack of lot rentals.

“We have not seen any improvements in the park in seven years until the past two weeks, and that’s because they want something,” said Vikki Rollison, secretary of the Rehoboth Shores Home Owners Association. “We think they should fix what they have before starting something else.”

Another resident, Debbie Irwin, said the owners should make the park a place people want to live.

Resident Barbara Duff said at least seven Realtors told her they would not list her home for sale in Rehoboth Shores. “They told me they won’t even come in there,” she said.

She presented a petition to the county with nearly 400 signatures opposed to the application.

Bayard said in addition to less traffic generated by the RV park, there would be less impact on the sewer infrastructure system. He said the closest lots in Rehoboth Shores would be 50 to 100 feet from the RV park.

A 50-foot vegetated buffer with a berm would border the RV park.

Under the plan presented by the developer, the park would be open April 1 to Oct. 31, when utilities and access would be cut off. Podlaseck said no one would be permitted in the RV park during the off-season. Security would be increased for the RV park as well as Rehoboth Shores.

He said there are no current plans to provide transient, overnight camping because residents don’t want it and to minimize traffic on Long Neck Road.

Podlaseck said manufactured homes and RV parks already co-exist in several local parks. He provided a list of such parks including Tall Pines, Big Oaks and Leisure Point.

Those who testified during the March 22 council public hearing disagreed with most of the applicant’s statements.

“They are attempting to change the rules of the game after the cards have been dealt,” said John Walsh, vice president of the Delaware Manufactured Home Owners Association.

Planning and zoning recommends denial of application

Sussex County planning and zoning commissioners voted 5-0 on a recommendation that council deny the Nanticoke Shores Associates application.

“I’m not satisfied of the need for additional RV campsites in this part of Sussex County, especially if it results in the loss of manufactured home sites,” said Commissioner Mike Johnson.

He offered the following reasons for his motion: 367 RV sites would be an unacceptable increase in density; seasonal RV lots would not be compatible with manufactured home lots; the RV park would not be a separate section away from the established Rehoboth Shores community; and there was substantial testimony in opposition to the application.

Johnson also said he agreed with residents who said traffic in the congested Long Neck Road area would increase during the busy summer season with the creation of a RV park.

“In addition, it’s the expectation of the current residents that the park would remain a manufactured home park,” he said.