Letter: Bed And Breakfast Concerns

If I read the May 27 Town-Crier correctly, the Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board (rightly, in my opinion) recommended not approving proposed changes for land use regulations that would make it easier for bed and breakfast facilities to be established in Wellington, specifically, at this time, in the Equestrian Preserve Area. Newly elected Mayor Anne Gerwig and newly elected Councilman Michael Drahos (both of whom received significant campaign funding from Mark Bellissimo and his cronies) urged sending the matter back to planning and zoning for reconsideration. This leads me to ask why bother having the checks and balances of the zoning board when the council can disregard their wishes. Once again, the pro-equestrian council is overriding the good of the community and the recommendations of a far-less-political committee, in order to further their own interests. Hopefully planning and zoning will not allow this to occur, now or in the future.

Pat Keeler, Wellington

Editor’s note: In almost all cases, the decisions of the Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board are advisory in nature and not binding on the Wellington Village Council.

4 COMMENTS

  1. Keep out of Wellington. Years ago B&B was allowed in the equestrian area only and with strict rules. Lets keep it that way. NO Hotels or B&B. This means more traffic and our road can’t handle it. Common people are getting screwed by council and don’t even know it.lol
    Common people are still the back bone of America and we can stop them.

  2. Um, Ms. Keeler, it is the council that is elected, not the PZAB.

    If the PZAB were taking a position contrary to your wishes you’d be screaming bloody murder that people who are not elected are making decisions.

    I agree that too much is being asked for BB’s, but am tired of people like you who always connect sinister motives to actions.

  3. Watch out for Gerwig and Drahos’ hidden agenda. I live in a gated community. Our community has rules and regulations that we all agreed to follow. I don’t want commercial bed and breakfasts popping up all over our community. Palm Beach Point is a very private and restricted community. We don’t want our gates thrown wide open by developer friendly Gerwig and Drahos. Bed and Breakfasts belong in commercial areas not private resident communities. They belong on collector roads not private subdivision roads.

  4. Absolutely do not want Bed and Breakfasts in any residential single family area in Wellington or for that matter anywhere in Wellington.

    It will be too hard for the Village staff to monitor who is running the facility, how long people are staying in the facility and this could open the door to a legal fight for condos in the Equestrian Preserve.

    It’s 1 woman who says she can not make a profit with just a 5 bedroom B&B and wants the Village to change the rules to allow for at least 8 bedrooms for a B&B.

    The Village is already battling problems in the multifamily areas, rental homes in single family areas, and sober homes peppered throughout single family areas and now comes a request for B&Bs! (Take note what the future holds: Miami has now become the hub for illegal lodging as a result of the rise of on-line room sharing and rental services like Airbnb!) Wellington should be Tightening the rules, not loosening them!

    Let’s not forget that 4 of the 5 Council people live in gated communities and have their own HOAs that will protect them and not affect their neighborhoods. The rest of us have to depend on Code Enforcement, who appear to be overwhelmed and seem to ignore code violations that occur in the Village. (What’s with all the A/C units appearing in windows throughout the Village?? Right across from the Municipal Complex are condos that have them! That’s unsightly and it is up to the owner of the property to update their a/c system; not put in window units!)

    This Village is going to be reviewing and rewriting the codes that have protected our community for decades. Loosening rules and regulations will not improve the Village. Allowing for B&Bs will promote more transiency in the Village. Transiency = Problems.

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