Salvation Army Store in Front of Westbrook Estates/Lexington Oaks

Posted at 3:05 AM, Feb. 22, 2007

As many have heard, there will be a new Salvation Army store in front of Westbrook Estates, across from the entrance to Lexington Oaks. There is now a campaign to try to stop it. The concern of course is that some of the people from their programs will work there and bring the crime levels up. There is also a concern that there will be junk left out front when it is dropped off. And finally, many are saying that the Salvation Army store will cause our home values to go down. The campaigns to stop organizations from opening rarely work since they are fitting in with the zoning laws. Where there is some success, it is usually to get some concesssions from the organization to make strict rules. If there are enough people against the store from opening, the Salvation Army could always decide not to open, but this rarely happens. The Salvation Army has said that they will not hire anyone from their program, with one caveat and that is once they complete the program, then they would consider hiring them.

So let's hear from you. Are you concerened about the Salvation Army store opening in front of Westbrook Estates? If you are concerned, what do you believe can be done, and if you are not concerened, why not? Finally, do you believe that the Salvation Army store would affect home values in Westbrook Estate or Lexington Oaks?

For more information you can send an email to nosalvationarmy4wc@yahoo.com

If you believe your home is an important investment, if you believe in maintaining a quality of life with peace, security, and the dream of a nice quiet community, I encourage you to take five minutes of your time and write a letter to

John Gallagher, Pasco County Administrator

West Pasco Government Center

7530 Little Road, Suite 340

New port Richey , FL 34654

Or e-mail him at Jgallagher@pascocountyfl.net telling him of your opposition. Then send a copy of that letter Pat Mulieri at commissioners@pascocountyfl.net. The case number is DRO 07-782; you must refer to this number when corresponding.

You can also contact the Salvation Army with your concerns. The contact information is;

Salvation Army:

Major Don Smith

The Salvation Army Tampa ARC

(C) 813 477-4439

Donald_Smith@uss.salvationarmy.org