Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board on Wednesday recommended not approving proposed changes to land use regulations that would make the rules more amenable for bed-and-breakfast locations.
The proposed changes are at the request of Mimi Hockman, who wants to establish a bed and breakfast in the Equestrian Preserve Area. There are currently no bed-and-breakfast locations in Wellington.
Amendments that would affect bed and breakfasts village-wide include that family members will reside on the site at all times. It would allow for Americans with Disabilities Act alterations for the exterior, require public water and wastewater, and would prohibit long-term rentals over six months. Additional parking is also required of one space per bedroom.
Proposed amendments for the equestrian area specifically include raising the maximum occupancy from five rooms to eight rooms, a decrease in minimum lot size from 3 acres to 2 acres, and that it be located within a quarter-mile of a collector or arterial road.
The Equestrian Preserve Committee recommended approval unanimously on April 13 with recommendations requiring a conditional use approval by the Wellington Village Council rather than Development Review Committee approval, keeping an existing separation requirement, allowing a maximum of five bedrooms on 2 to 5 acres and allowing up to eight bedrooms on more than 5 acres. The committee also asked for additional ownership requirements.
PZA Board Member George Unger said his bed-and-breakfast experiences were limited to areas such as Key West and St. Augustine, where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic, as opposed to residential neighborhoods, and that he, sitting on the First Wellington master HOA board 17 years ago had found that neighbors to a proposed bed and breakfast opposed them in their neighborhoods.
Unger added that he was concerned about bed and breakfasts that don’t work out, which might turn to other uses, such as Section 8 housing or sober homes, over which the village has limited control, or corporations that might buy out the use.
“There are a million things that could happen,” Unger said. “Does it become a different kind of rental? It’s not the village’s fault, but the village has already proven that it has a very hard time enforcing things by going out to people’s property, because people don’t have to let them on their property.”
PZA Board Member Andrew Carduner shared Unger’s concerns, particularly his concerns about corporations buying out bed-and-breakfast interests, and with enforcement. “It doesn’t seem to me that any of this can be enforced,” he said.
Senior Planner Cory Lyn Cramer pointed out that bed-and-breakfast uses already are allowed, and that the reason there haven’t been requests for the use is that it is not financially feasible given the current regulations.
“That is the reason why Ms. Hockman is asking for this zoning text amendment, because from a business perspective, it’s not financially feasible,” Cramer said.
PZA Board Member Elizabeth Mariaca asked about the provision prohibiting long-term rentals, and Cramer said it was intended to restrict them to seasonal rentals, which would be no longer than six months.
“With the fact that we are an equestrian community, that’s one of the things that’s very unique about us, so having the ability to have a bed and breakfast that would potentially serve the seasonal equestrian community, whether it be within the [Equestrian Overlay Zoning District] or outside… it would be typically different than what you would find somewhere else where long-term rental would mean two weeks,” Cramer said.
Growth Management Director Robert Basehart added that he thought the reference to a bed and breakfast becoming a sober home was irrelevant, pointing out that it is much easier to get a sober home approval than a bed-and-breakfast approval.
Hockman said her original vision was to buy a horse farm and to renovate the barn into an upscale bed-and-breakfast facility.
“The reason to ask for eight rooms instead of five is you just can’t make enough money with five,” she said. “I’m trying to create a very chic [place], for all the people who don’t own or rent a home in Wellington, and don’t want to stay at the Hampton Inn. It’s a daily rate that I plan to charge, more than the Hampton Inn.”
PZA Board Chair Carol Coleman was concerned about the number of people going in and out of the establishment, and how a bed and breakfast is defined, explaining that if a kitchen is there, the occupants could also be having lunch and dinner there.
Basehart said one of the stipulations was that applicants had to check with homeowners’ associations for compliance with its regulations.
Mariaca said she thought the changes they were looking at made sense.
“I don’t think we should project worst-case scenarios,” she said. “I’m inclined to see this pass.”
She made a motion to approve the amendments with the Equestrian Preserve Committee’s conditions. It was seconded by PZA Board Member Kenneth Kopp, but the motion failed 3-2 with Unger, Carduner and Coleman opposed.
