Commission

Commission

Looks at B&Bs

By JAN LAVALLEY

Rappahannock News Staff Writer

What is a Bed & Breakfast?

Depending on who you ask here in the county you probably won’t get the same answer.

What they are and what they ought to be has been a subject of much discussion by the Rappahannock Planning Commission of late. j The Commission plans to propose and amendment the County Code concerning B&Bs.

They propose to amend Chapter 170 of the code: to define the difference between B&Bs, tourist homes and boardinghouses; to require site plans for tourist homes and B&Bs; to limit the number of guest rooms to not more than six; and to apply new standards for tourist homes and B&Bs.

The new standards were what many who attended the meeting, most of them B&B owners, took exception to.

The new standards call for: a minimum acreage requirement of 10 acres for tourist homes and B&Bs; a 50 foot right of way for private roads seirving tourist homes and B&Bs; and a stipulation that B&Bs only serve breakfast and dinner and only to overnight guests of the establishment.

Phil Irwin, owner of Caledonia Farm B&B in Flint Hill, said, “1 have just one question, if you can serve breakfast and dinner — why not lunch?”

Commissioner Alex Sharp said, “It’s not really whether to serve lunch or not that’s the issue, the basic gist is the ^limber of meals served.”

Commissioner Susan Babcock said, “People who stay at B&Bs have friends here (in the county) and want to have meals together. I don’t see how you can stop it.”

“I don’t think you can enforce it,” said Commissioner Tom Junk. “If they want to serve lunch, why not? I don’t think we should enforce it. But I think we should keep the number of meals served equal to the number of guests the B&B has.”

Commission chair, Sharon Pierce, said that she felt those B&Bs who wanted to have special events, festivals or weddings

See Planning, Page A-6