This story needs to be told. It is the story of Sea Air Village Mobile Home Park in Rehoboth, in the county of Sussex.
Sea Air Village has had many problems with the county, particularly over the past six or seven years, and most are reflected through the lack of proper code enforcement. To understand this first-hand you would need to take a tour of Sea Air Village with someone who has resided there for many years During this tour many problems and stories will unfold right before your eyes, that you would not see by just riding through on your own.
Such as the 80-plus year old lady who was threaten by a county inspector to be handcuffed and arrested because she was replacing windows in her sunroom because she didn't have a survey or a variance. Or the resident on Sea Air Avenue who had an inspector threaten to shut down workers on two different occasions as they were replacing a broken door and window because he didn't have a survey or a variance. Then there was a contractor who was putting on a roof for one of the residents and was told he needed a survey, which he was made to obtain before he could finish the roof.
You will be shown homes placed almost in the road, and allowed by this county, because the code states a five-foot setback, with a four-foot step that can be placed in the setback which then puts it on the road. We in Sea Air have pleaded with this county to change this, and the county has agreed it needs to be fixed, but then does nothing about it. This has created dangerous situations.
The county also appears to be selective in who is targeted. There are some residents who have built an addition without a variance or survey, that are less than 20 feet between structures which is according to code, with only a building permit. While another resident was required to remove his addition and deck, which was built according to the code with 20-plus feet between structures. The list just goes on and on!
There are a few leaders in the county who have taken the tour - Bob Stickels, past county administrator; Lynn Rogers, past county councilman; and at that time a moratorium was placed so that a 1982 survey could be verified. Out of the current county council people only one has taken the guided tour, Councilman George Cole, and he has stated numerous times on the record, this county has made a mess out of Sea Air and ruined the park. Other current members of the council were invited to be shown what has occurred but refused or did not respond. Recently, a candidate running for a council seat toured the park and he too was appalled at the lack of code enforcement in this community.
And last, but certainly not least, there is the story of my shed, a legally placed shed I might add, according to the code. When the ordeal of my shed began, I was the president of our home owners association. As such I had the obligation and the duty to fight for the residents of our association when their rights were violated. Because I was vocal and stood up for the rights of others, I became a target for harassment by management and then the county.
This is just plain wrong. A legally placed shed that was in the same place for over 40 years was replaced in the same "footprint" and the same size. And the county has literally been in a war against me over this for over four years now. The latest lawsuit in federal court has the county hiring four different attorneys to defend their position. The taxpayer's money is being wasted all because of the replacement of a damaged eight-by-10-foot shed.
Jeanne Sisk
president, Sea Air Homeowners Association
Rehoboth Beach
_______________________________________
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
