Wake Robin saga continues into new year

LAKEVILLE — The defining land-use story in Salisbury in 2025 centered on Aradev LLC’s renewed effort to expand the Wake Robin Inn, a proposal that ultimately won approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission in October but continues to face legal challenges and sustained neighborhood opposition.

After withdrawing its initial proposal in December 2024 — following a contentious hearing process that drew criticism over the project’s size — Aradev returned at the beginning of 2025 with a modified plan.

In January, the developer appeared before the P&Z for a pre-application meeting, signaling the company’s intent to rework and resubmit the project.

Anticipating that move, Wells Hill Road residents Angela and William Cruger filed a lawsuit in March challenging a zoning regulation amendment adopted by the commission in 2024 after discussions with Aradev.

The suit alleges that the change, which permits hotel development in the Rural Residential 1 zone where the Wake Robin Inn is located, was enacted illegally and constituted spot zoning.

The commission opposed a restraining order, maintaining that the amendment was intended to address broader zoning nonconformities in town and was not designed to benefit a single property.

As the legal challenge moved forward, Aradev resumed the regulatory process.

In late April, the developer presented its revised plans publicly for the first time, seeking a modification to a wetlands permit previously issued by the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission. The commission approved the request, and a week later Aradev returned to P&Z with a 644-page application it said reflected significant reductions made in response to public criticism.

The revised proposal eliminated a controversial detached event barn, reduced the number of external cottages, lowered total guest capacity from 158 to 130, and imposed tighter restrictions on events, operating hours and noise. Architectural plans were also revised with the aim of better aligning the Inn with the surrounding rural New England setting.

In June, the Salisbury Water Pollution Control Authority approved the project’s sewer specifications, eliminating a major municipal roadblock for the proposal.

Opposition, however, intensified over the summer. In July, residents gathered at the Congregational Church of Salisbury to promote a petition opposing both the Wake Robin expansion and the 2024 zoning amendment, ultimately collecting more than 500 signatures.

The public hearing process, which spanned seven sessions between August and September, largely resembled the first contentious hearing rounds in 2024, with residents still staunchly opposed to the project, despite the developer’s modifications.

“Lakeville is not Ibiza,” said Wells Hill Road resident Aimee Bell, echoing neighbors’ concerns about noise and what they described as a shift toward a destination venue.

The comparison to the Spanish party island captured the sentiments of many residents, who said the project would intrude on the peace and quiet of their neighborhood.

After the hearing closed, commissioners spent several meetings deliberating over traffic, noise, auxiliary cottages, and the overall intensity of development.

On Oct. 20, following more than a year and a half of hearings and discussions, the commission voted 4–1 to approve the special permit, adopting a nine-page resolution with 40 conditions.

Cathy Shyer, the P&Z vice chair at the time, cast the lone dissenting vote, maintaining that the revised proposal remained too large. “The bottom line is this is a big development… It’s as big as the last one,” she said during deliberations.

The controversy’s impact extended beyond the project itself.

P&Z Chair Michael Klemens, who had served for 15 years, resigned two years before the end of his term. In an Oct. 27 resignation letter, Klemens cited the “vitriol and bigotry” he said he experienced from members of the public during the Wake Robin hearings as a factor in his decision.

As Salisbury enters the new year, the issue remains unresolved. The Crugers’ challenge to the 2024 zoning amendment is still awaiting a court decision, and an appeal of the commission’s October approval is also pending.