Tourist homes

In recent years there has been confusion over minimum lot sizes for tourist homes and B&Bs. Currently, the minimum acreage requirement is 10 acres in Agriculture (A) zones and 20 acres in Conservation (C) zones.

According to Konick’s written notes on the amendment draft, “This subsection was amended 7-7-2010 to read as follows: ‘In A and C Zones the minimum acreage requirement shall be two and five acres, respectively.’ The amendment was codified in August 2010. The County Attorney subsequently deemed the amendment to be void … due to procedural defects, and the amendment was removed from the Code in September 2018.”

In consideration of all this, the new amendments permit the BZA to “waive the minimum acreage requirement only if the property has frontage on a paved public road that is part of the State primary or secondary system.” The amendment was likely prompted by disputes between B&B owners and neighbors over increased traffic on narrow private roads, most notably the years-long conflict over the B&B Harmony Manor, now the Skyline Vineyard Inn, near the top of single-lane Clark Ln.

Another amendment will reduce the number of rooms and occupants allowable in a tourist home from six rooms and 12 occupants to five rooms and 10 occupants. Konick explained the reason for the change is that the county building code considers any building with more than five rooms and a 10-person occupancy a “hotel,” and the new amendment will simply bring all county codes into harmony.

The planners also codified several conditions for tourist homes and B&Bs that the Planning Commission and BZA have routinely added to special use permits. These include requiring owners to comply with health department and VDOT rules (for Type II roads), limiting noise and other effects that could potentially bother neighbors, posting emergency contact information, and installing both smoke/fire and carbon monoxide alarms.

Given these requirements (especially the road provision), “some of our past tourist home applications would not have been approved,” Light said.