The Millville City Commissioners have scheduled a meeting and possible hearing on August 22 at 5 pm at City Hall to determine if an appeal made 10 days late against the zoning approval for Reese’s House was filed timely. If they somehow decide that the appeal was filed timely, they will immediately hold a hearing and make a decision to sustain or deny the appeal. 

If our elected officials do the right thing and deny the appeal, we will be able to continue using our space to operate Reese’s House, our multi-faceted community center in Millville. If they sustain the appeal, then our zoning will be revoked and we will be forced to appeal to Superior Court. This would result in thousands of additional dollars being spent on legal fees in addition to the thousands that we have already spent fighting to have his case dismissed in Superior Court. 

There is no legal ground for the City Commissioners to arbitrarily extend an appeal deadline that is outlined clearly in NJ State Statutes. To be clear, the city does not need to do any of this. They can just tell the owner of the vacant adjacent property, Rick Abbott, that it was filed late and that he needs to appeal to a higher level.  Instead, we have to pay our attorneys to prepare and be present for something that shouldn’t even be happening. 

Our city and county are experiencing a rash of violence that has never been seen before. A community center like Reese’s House that focuses on our young adults and teenagers could help to start turning the tide in our community. The kind of opportunities that we will provide at Reese’s House can be life-changing for a lot of our youth. 

We need all of our supporters and the people of our area to come together to demand our elected officials vote no on the appeal. We’re not sure how they are currently leaning, but we must do everything we can to fight for Reese’s House and hold them accountable. This decision will have tremendous repercussions in our community and they must understand that people from all walks of life see the necessity for this in our city! Please sign this petition and then show up at the meeting to show your support. Join us in the fight for our community and the fight for Reese’s House!

If you'd like to make a donation to support us in this fight, please check out our legal defense fund and donate directly through our platform! https://go.ourfuturefirst.org/legaldefense