We certainly agree with the local B&B owners. What do you think? 

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OrlandoSentinel.com

Mount Dora B&B owners want rules eased

Martin E. Comas

Sentinel Staff Writer

February 8, 2009

Andy Mason has owned the Grandview Bed and Breakfast downtown with Mel Powell for about four years.

The two-story home, built in 1906, offers guests a pool, gardens and a cottage in a quiet residential spot near Third Avenue and Grandview Street. This weekend all five rooms at the inn are booked for the Mount Dora Arts Festival, which continues today.

But Mason and several other Mount Dora bed-and-breakfast owners say they are struggling to stay profitable in the slumping economy. They want the city to ease several restrictions on the establishments, so the B&Bs can serve alcohol and host weddings, parties and other events.

If the events are kept small, Mason says, there would be little distraction to his neighbors.

"I've told people that if they're going to get wild and dance on the tables, then we're not the place for that," he said. "This is not a party place. If you want to party, then you'll have to go elsewhere."

But Kenny Martin, a 15-year resident, is not so sure. He lives near the Heron Cay Lakeview Bed and Breakfast on Old U.S. Highway 441.

"I'm not against bed-and-breakfasts," Martin said. "I live just a hop, skip and a jump from a bed-and-breakfast. But I don't want all these wild wedding parties. I've been to wild weddings and I know what goes on there."

On Feb. 23, Mount Dora City Council members are scheduled to hold a workshop to discuss whether to modify the city's B&B rules. The discussion will include whether a B&B should be allowed to hold special events and serve alcohol -- such as beer and wine -- to guests not staying overnight. Council members also will consider modifying rules that state a B&B owner must live at the business and that limit a B&B to no more than five rooms.

Mount Dora has 18 B&Bs in the city, and 16 are in residential neighborhoods. However, six B&Bs are considered inactive, according to city records.

Mount Dora's current ordinance -- enacted almost 20 years ago -- recognizes that many of its B&Bs sit in residential neighborhoods, city officials said.

"I'm very sympathetic to residents who moved to a residential district with the expectation that there would not be commercial activity near their home," said Mount Dora Mayor Melissa DeMarco. "People buy a home in a residential area to have respite from commercial activity."

David Cook has owned the Magnolia Inn B&B on Third Avenue with his wife, Betty, for almost 12 years. The two-story Mediterranean-style home built in 1926 offers five rooms in a romantic setting, he said.

Cook says the city should allow B&Bs to host small events, limited to 35 people.

"They should shut everything down by 10 p.m.," he said. "Let's face it, we're a romantic B&B. We offer guests a romantic getaway. If it was something [an event] that had a rock-and-roll band, that wouldn't even be in our thoughts."

Cook and Mason said B&Bs serve an important role in the city's economy because they steer out-of-town guests to Mount Dora's merchants and restaurants.

City Council member Glenna Burch said "there's room for compromise" on restrictions on B&Bs.

"Residents do have valid concerns," she said. "But are we looking at events with hundreds of people or just 30 people? To me that makes a difference."

Mount Dora resident Steve Guch lives near the Coconut Cottage Inn B&B on McDonald Street. He says he is concerned that if B&Bs begin to offer events and alcohol to nonguests, they would become commercial establishments like bars and hotels.

"A small-scale B&B can be charming and an addition to a neighborhood," he said. "But we should have bars in commercial districts, hotels in commercial districts, not in residential districts."




Martin E. Comas can be reached at mcomas@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5927.