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By MARK REYNOLDS mreynolds @ tcnewspapers . com
After a lengthy period before the Marlborough Planning Board , Kenneth and Linda Cool were finally approved for a Bed & Breakfast at 5 West St . in Marlboro . In a follow-up interview the Cools described their journey toward approval . The couple purchased the home , directly across from their property , when it was in “ total disrepair with weeds growing up and lines down .” When a bank made the property available through a foreclosure auction the Cools acquired the home , in part , to prevent an absentee landlord from subdividing the building into apartments and to preserve the property values on their street .
The Cools then began preliminary discussions with Supervisor Al Lanzetta , the town ’ s Economic Committee and the
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Planning Board to gauge their receptivity to the idea of establishing a Bed & Breakfast . The couple decided they did not want to move toward the Air BnB model , believing this would lend itself to “ wild boy frat parties . That was not the concept that we ever contemplated .” Instead , the Cools wanted to have a B & B in order to take advantage of the many local amenities , such as the farm-to-table movement , the Meet Me in Marlborough organization and the local wineries and eateries .
There were two key code issues surrounding this application – to run a B & B the home must be owner-occupied and that up to 50 % of the home could be used by guests .
Ken said one problem is that owneroccupancy is not defined in the code .
“ Some have construed it to mean primary residence that is not stated anywhere and what we stated more
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recently is we as owners would occupy the residence ,” he said , adding that the town accepted a letter from them on this point .
Ken said the code term owneroccupancy is still “ rife with ambiguities [ and ] it means nothing ,” adding that he believes the town over-interpreted this concept .
Ken said the 50 % use rule is also “ fraught ” with problems .
“ Beyond saying that a B & B shall not exceed 50 % use for transient guests , it [ code ] never defines use [ and ] never talks about the relationship between the primary use of the family because in this concept of home occupation is the idea that the house remains the dwelling of a family with a secondary use that is a home occupation , in our case a Bed & Breakfast .” He said early in the process
Continued on page 4
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