South Pasadena : B & Bs Get Tentative OK

The City Council tentatively adopted an ordinance allowing historic houses in neighborhoods of single-family homes to be bed-and-breakfast establishments.

Council members passed a similar ordinance earlier this year. But in August, the City Council decided that it and the Planning Commission should vote again because Planning Commissioner Leslie Hoffelt had a conflict of interest when she voted for it in February.

The city attorney told the council that under state law, Hoffelt, an architect, should not have voted because she received more than $250 in the previous 12 months for remodeling a bathroom for what she knew would be a bed-and-breakfast establishment.

At Wednesday’s meeting, bed-and-breakfast opponents, led by Larry Rice, criticized the ordinance.

“This establishes a precedent for businesses in residential neighborhoods, and we won’t know how dangerous that will be in the years to come,” he said.

Councilman Dick Richards replied that it is unlikely that bed-and-breakfasts will proliferate, because houses must be classed as cultural historic landmarks before they can be used for lodging.

Richards, James C. Hodge Jr. and Harry Knapp voted for the ordinance. Councilmen James S. Woollacott and Paul Zee were absent. A final council vote on the matter is scheduled for Oct. 20.

The new ordinance cuts the number of people allowed to stay at an establishment from 12 to 10 and requires the owner to live in the house. The owner must contact all neighbors when applying for a permit to operate.

Rice said he will continue to fight individual bed-and-breakfasts and may seek to put the issue on the ballot in the future.