Council opposes bed-and-breakfast zoning variances
POTTSTOWN >> Borough council voted unanimously Monday night to oppose variances sought by an investor who wants to open an Airbnb on Fifth Street.
The vote was taken at the behest of Third Ward Councilman Don Lebedynsky because the property in question is located in his ward.
Council traditionally defers to the ward representative to set its direction on zoning variance requests.
According to Montgomery County property records, Ketteline Guerrier purchased the 4,200-squarefoot home at 31 E. Fifth St. on Oct. 19 for $157,440.
She purchased it from
Russell F. Mahrt and Megan Malloy Carr, who had operated the home as a rental property that was the subject of a police drug raid prior to its sale.
Guerrier also owns a property at 77 W. Fourth St.
The property that is the subject of the variance request is located in the “traditional town neighborhood” zoning district.
The zoning code allows bed-and-breakfasts, tourist homes and boarding houses in that district by “special exception,” which is permission granted by the zoning hearing board.
Bed-and-breakfasts are defined in the code as “one dwelling for the traveling public, within which is provided shelter and meals to two to six persons for compensation, that is rented overnight for short indefinite periods, and in which meals for lodgers may also be prepared in a common kitchen.”
According to the legal notice published in The Mercury on Monday, Guerrier is seeking variances to allow “a bed-and-breakfast that will not be owner- occupied, will not provide any meals, have more than six guests per a twenty-four hour period, will not be supervised by staff on a twenty-four hourper-day basis; and 3. A Variance to Chapter 27, Section 601B, requiring three offstreet parking spaces.”
This is largely in keeping with how other Airbnb sites around the country work.
According to the company website, “Airbnb is an online marketplace that connects people who want to rent out their homes with people who are looking for accommodations in that locale.”
A quick check of the site Monday night showed nine different Airbnb locations in the borough available for rent on Jan. 21 when the zoning hearing board will hear the case for Guerrier’s business at 7 p.m. in borough hall.
Also at that hearing, as a result of Monday’s vote, will be Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr., who will address the zoning hearing board in opposition to the application.
During the Jan. 8 council work session, Lebedysnky told council he had spoken with area residents who had expressed concern about the effect Guerrier’s Airbnb could have on parking.