Marcia Yearsley had appeared at the Oct. 13 Planning Commission meeting to renew a Conditional Use Permit at 2 Grand Ave. She said the property was the location of the city’s first bed and breakfast. That operation preceded city regulations, and the ability to continue operation as a B&B would ordinarily transfer with the property. However, the application to transfer the property was not entered immediately. The situation was further complicated because the commission had worked for the ordinance forbidding new CUPs in residential areas.
Yearsley explained at the Nov. 9 meeting that she had sold the property on an open contract. She assisted that owner in continuing the CUP. She explained that the website for the property remains active, and tax money was sent to the City Advertising and Promotion Commission in September.
Many of the commissioners expressed reservations about reinstating the CUP. Learning about the current tax revenue changed the perspective for some. All voted in favor during a roll call vote, although Tandy-Sallee took a long pause before agreeing.
In other business:
- Commissioners briefly considered adding qualifications for some members, such as an engineer or an arborist. With one of the seven positions already vacant, all agreed that establishing requirements would only make it harder to fill all the seats.
- With an ordinance recently passed to forbid further CUPs in residential areas, Melinda Large came to the microphone to remind the commissioners that passage of the ordinance was “one side of a two-headed coin.” The other side involves enforcement, and Large asked for a streamlined process for reporting violations.