TRURO — In spite of the signs in residents’ yards and on windowsills proclaiming that “Housing Is a Human Right,” efforts to create an underground campsite as a solution to the affordable housing crisis here have stalled in the face of neighborhood resistance.
Twelve neighbors have filed suit in Barnstable Inferior Court to halt the project, called Out of Sight, Out of Mind, claiming that the camouflaged entryway, a crawl space behind an oak tree, does not comply with the town’s zoning bylaw. The campsite would be a visual and noise-producing nuisance, derogating from the rural character of the town, and a threat to the morals of Truro’s children, according to documents filed by the plaintiffs.
The neighbors were not mollified by the developer’s promises of a zero-noise policy “to ensure birds can still be heard above,” limited hours of occupancy, and a requirement that camouflage suits, covered with leaves native to the area, be worn by anyone approaching the property.
“It’s not a NIMBY issue,” the neighbors’ attorney, David Reid, said. “All of my clients truly want more housing options — just not in Truro.”
Lucas DelMar, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, has three Airbnb units that abut the property.
“This campsite would mar the new memories to be formed by tourists,” he told the Independent. “These are very sensitive people. Even if they never saw any of the campers, they would know they were there.”
