Alderman Bob Thomas said at the July 25 city council meeting he was concerned with council procedure. Thomas presented his researched timeline following the June 27 vote approving a moratorium on issuing Conditional Use Permits to Bed & Breakfasts in residential zones for six months, and subsequent clarifications at the next meeting by alderman James DeVito that intent of the moratorium was for preventing any new CUPs for B&Bs. The moratorium did not encumber the transfer of existing B&Bs.
City attorney Tim Weaver said aldermen could vote to restate the moratorium, but in his opinion that vote was unnecessary because “it appears the intent was it applied to new B&Bs.”
Thomas said he might have voted differently if the motion had been clearer. McClung said he never would have voted for the moratorium unless it applied only to new B&Bs, and alderman David Mitchell agreed with McClung’s interpretation.
Mayor Butch Berry returned to Thomas’s inquiry about proper procedure and admitted he might have been remiss in applying Robert’s Rules of Order in the instance Thomas cited. However, the issue of procedure was not completely resolved and will appear on the August 8 agenda.