HomeMy WebLinkAbout4979 33-37 Seaside Village Letter of Opposition 1 RECEIVED
To the Zoning Board of Appeals OCT 03 2022
Re: 33-37 Seaside Village Road YARMOUTH
BOARD OF APPEALS
Turning the motel into housing for seasonal workers is detrimental to the neighborhood, neighborhood
property values, our safety and peace of mind; it increases the annoyance factor, littering and alcohol
and drug use. It is a visual blight.
Let's start with the current visuals. Right now the motel is already in the worst shape of its existence
and promises to only get worse. The curtains are shredded, the windows are stuffed with detritus, the
shingles are falling off,there are multiple paint colors — they couldn't even finish outside
"improvements,"with a bottom panel job and three different shades of blue on top, all stopping at a
halfway point. If they don't care now, pending approval, they certainly won't care once they get
it. What's next?Yet another color?Torn screens? Let the fallen shingles stay off? If they can't properly
maintain the building(and it's self-evident that they cannot)they should not be allowed to use it for
workers.
What was the summer like with the first crop? The fire department came often — 3 times in a single
week,with the alarm blaring and smoke rising. There were parties,and relationships occurred,
complete with screaming,fights,etc.There were gangs outside at night, smoking cigarettes and weed,
on the street.
They repeatedly stole shopping carts from Stop n Shop and even left one in my yard, leaving it for me to
deal with.
Who are these seasonal workers? Does anyone run criminal background checks?They clearly don't
know how to use a stove or treat others with respect and many were far from young.
Is a rundown motel in an upscale family-oriented neighborhood packed with children really the best
place for these workers? South Yarmouth is already the Cape's dumping ground, with multiple low
income housing complexes, and is the consignment/food bank capitol of the Cape. The low income
housing was also supposed to provide workers. Based on the bodies I see outside smoking,the people
walking their large dogs mid-day, and the number of police visits, I would say that's a fantasy. For every
blight South Yarmouth approves, the tax dollars they could collect go down. They become the anti-
Chatham.
Frankly, many of us wonder what the town selectmen get out of these dubious decisions and ask whose
benefit they're working for. It sounds great to say they are for small businesses and adding a labor pool,
but homeowners pay the bulk of town taxes, and we are not in favor of a run-down building packed with
foreign workers with zero background checks, no knowledge of how to use a stove, respect others, and
all the domestic disruptions that they bring with them. It adds a slum atmosphere across the street
from one of the town's busiest restaurants,Skippers, hurting one of the few things the town has going
for it. With all the empty motels on Route 28 — close to markets —there is no good reason to pick a
motel in a family-filled residential neighborhood.
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Childrn pack the playgrounds and beaches a few feet away from the motel. You would think the town
would want to protect them, as the Cape without children can't sustain itself.
And finally, thinking of the workers themselves, is it fair to put them in what is, let's be honest, now a
dump? In one year the motel has gone from innocuous neighborhood motel to a ready-to-be-
condemned blight. One look at the windows tells you the story. They are also forced to walk for
groceries, steal carts for transport and are essentially stranded without the Red Jackets vans to
transport them. It's a pretty bad visual for the Red Jacket.
Lisa Ali
19 Seaside Village Road