Standing at the Line: A Letter from the Founder on Zoning Day
As I write this, it’s hard to fully capture what this moment means. Because while tonight may feel like the beginning to many, it’s actually the result of months, of quiet, persistent effort behind the scenes. The folders. The phone calls. The marked-up site plans. The color-coded drawings. The endless walking in and out of the town building, sometimes with confidence, sometimes holding my breath.
This zoning journey has been happening the entire time. Even when I wasn’t speaking about it publicly, I was living it daily. This moment, this meeting, this single yes or no, it carries the weight of it all.
Tonight, I’ll stand in front of the planning board for the first time in my life. I’ve prepared just ten minutes of talking points, ten minutes to give voice to a vision I’ve carried with reverence from day one. Ten minutes to present something entirely new… in a system built for what’s already been done.
If the board says yes, there’s a 99.9% chance we’ll receive official zoning approval for Thrivewell Estate. If they say yes, we get to stay. We get to build. We get to breathe into what’s next.
It feels surreal even typing that. My body has been vibrating all day. It’s almost an out-of-body experience, yet I’ve never felt more grounded in what I believe.
Thrivewell Estate is a vision rooted in care, in recovery, in healing, in reverence for land and community and spirit. It’s an interfaith holistic sanctuary designed to be self-sustaining, with a business model carefully built to preserve the property while honoring its history. It is my life’s work. And it is not motivated by money, it is motivated by integrity.
But zoning has been the most challenging part of this journey so far. Not because anyone has opposed the mission, but because what we’re proposing doesn’t yet exist in the zoning framework we’re working within.
We’re in a “heritage zone”, a designation that sounds protective, but is actually vague. There’s no clear precedent for a model like Thrivewell: something that preserves history while creating healing space, something that is both sacred and sustainable, something that invites community but isn’t a typical business. It’s a first-of-its-kind offering. And firsts don’t fit neatly in bylaws.
Over the last several months, I’ve had to teach myself things I never imagined I’d need to understand. Easements. Frontage. Zoning clearances. Planning board processes. I’ve asked more questions than I can count. I’ve taken more deep breaths than I can explain. And I’ve stayed true to the vision the entire way.
I’m not sure where the confidence to do all this has come from, except that I’ve never doubted this is the path. My relationship with the divine is fluid, but my faith in this calling has never wavered. I’ve relied on my ancestors, on my tribe, and on the cards I’ve pulled late at night when I needed guidance. And somehow… here we are. Speaking it into the room.
And as this letter goes live, I’ll be standing there, offering my voice with as much clarity and care as I can. Because zoning is not just a bureaucratic step. For us, it is the step. Without it, this dream doesn’t take root on this land. Without it, we’re at square one again, searching for a new home for something that was born to belong right here.
If you’ve ever walked a vision into the unknown, if you’ve ever tried to build something that hasn’t been seen before, you know this moment. You know the weight of it. And you know the courage it takes to hold your ground when the ground hasn’t fully said yes yet.
I hope this moment helps others feel braver. I hope it helps people with big ideas realize they don’t have to shrink their dreams to fit inside someone else’s structure. Yes, it’s hard. But it’s worth it.
And I would not still be standing without the support of this community. To those of you who have believed in Thrivewell, who have shared a kind word, donated your time, offered your prayers, or simply whispered "keep going" in my direction, thank you. You are why this vision has remained alive and intact through the unknown.
No matter the outcome of tonight’s meeting, I will keep walking this path with integrity, reverence, and open hands. I will speak the truth of this mission, and I will trust that those meant to understand it, will.
Thank you for standing beside me.
Thank you for believing in what we’re building.
Thank you for holding this sacred threshold with me.
Carrying the vision, standing in trust, rooted in purpose,
Kelley