Innkeepers Are Spared Event Limit

Bed-and-breakfast owners across western Loudoun County heaved a sigh of relief last week after county supervisors approved a new zoning ordinance allowing small innkeepers to continue holding events without special approval.

The new ordinance, which governs the county's western two-thirds and was scrutinized mostly for its restrictions on home building, caused controversy within the hospitality industry when an earlier version proposed requiring approval to host even one large event such as a wedding or corporate meeting.

Previous rules allowed innkeepers to have as many as 10 events a year without seeking a special exception, a permitting process that requires a public hearing and approval by the Board of Supervisors. Thanks to a last-minute change by Supervisor Lori L. Waters (R-Broad Run), the new rules preserve that flexibility.

"It would have been a real problem for the mom-and-pop bed-and-breakfasts," said Dan Haendel, owner of Briar Patch Bed and Breakfast near Middleburg. "As far as I'm concerned, Lori Waters saved the day."

At issue is how to regulate bed-and-breakfasts in a way that protects neighbors and country lanes from undue noise, light and traffic while encouraging a significant component of Loudoun's rural economy to continue to thrive.

About 15 bed-and-breakfasts and country inns operate in Loudoun County, not including those inside the boundaries of such towns as Leesburg and Purcellville.

To more closely regulate large events that can disturb the rural atmosphere for neighbors, county staff members recommended requiring innkeepers to obtain a special exception for even one special event.

"Some of these places are on tiny dirt roads," said Melinda Artman, county zoning administrator. "Two hundred people going to an event on a dirt road is hard on the dirt road, and it's hard on the neighbors and it's hard to get an ambulance there and all that stuff."

But innkeepers argued that the intention of the new rural ordinance was to encourage economic activity in Loudoun's rural west, a 300-square-mile expanse of horse farms, country lanes and Blue Ridge vistas. Many owners of bed-and-breakfasts host fewer than 10 events a year, and for many, continuing the practice would not be worth the cumbersome and expensive process of seeking special exceptions.

"It could have been disastrous," sad Cheryl Kilday, president and CEO of the Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association, who noted that some innkeepers might have been forced to cancel weddings already booked for the spring because of the proposed regulations.

"It would have been a black eye for the entire community, like saying we were closed for business," she said.

Kilday said innkeepers were comfortable enduring the regulatory process in order to hold more than 10 events. In high season, generally April through November, inns such as Briar Patch, which earned a special exception earlier this year, hold events every weekend as well as multiple corporate events during the week.

The result for the county is more revenue from lodging and sales taxes and a heightened profile for Loudoun tourism, Kilday said.

"People are going to weddings in western Loudoun, but they're filling hotels throughout the county," she said. "We want them to be able to do that business in Loudoun County."

Supervisor James G. Burton (I-Blue Ridge) has argued in favor of requiring the special exception -- and has incurred the disapproval of innkeepers -- but he said this week he was content with the regulations that were ultimately enacted last week allowing as many as 10 events each year without county approval.

"We needed to find an accommodation for both the bed-and-breakfast industry and the surrounding neighborhoods," Burton said.