In a quick meeting Monday night, the Henderson County Board of Zoning Adjustments approved a conditional use that will allow the Farmer & the Frenchman to build a six-unit bed and breakfast on its property.
The conditional use approval came after a months-long process in which F&F had attempted to construct the new building, but was at first denied because County Codes Administrator Randy Tasa said the zoning ordinance at the time did not allow for bed and breakfasts of more than four guest rooms to be built on agricultural land.
F&F argued that, per state statute, it was exempt from the ordinance because the property is zoned agricultural and it is ag exempt, which among other options allows ag businesses to build without zoning to support agritourism. F&F took the issue to BOZA for a November hearing, which ended in a the body tabling a vote till a December special called meeting.
In the November BOZA meeting, County Attorney Steve Gold agreed that Tasa’s interpretation of the county’s zoning ordinance was correct and suggested that the F&F could build the six-room bed and breakfast, or farmstay, if it petitioned the fiscal court for a text amendment that would allow bed and breakfasts as a conditional use on land zoned agricultural.
Before the next fiscal court meeting, F&F met with county officials and got the issue placed on the agenda of its next meeting, when local partners asked the fiscal court to consider adding a conditional use that would allow up to nine guest rooms for bed and breakfasts built on agricultural land. That is eventually what happened, after the matter was sent to the Henderson City-County Planning Commission, which made the conditional use recommendation. The fiscal court later approved it.
The definition of small farm winery farmstay was added to the ordinance as an approved activity of agritourism, which is acceptable to occur on land zoned agriculture.
Also added to the county’s zoning ordinance was that small farm winery farmstays with no more than nine guest rooms can be built on land zoned agriculture with a conditional use permit.
With the text amendment added to the county’s zoning ordinance, BOZA on Monday night approved the conditional use unanimously.
Now, F&F owner Katy Groves-Mussat said she hopes that construction can begin this month. The business is currently getting subcontractors scheduled. And she said “if all goes well” she estimates that construction will take 18 months.
The business currently has three guest rooms, and though they aren’t full every night, she said every weekend is. Rates are $189 for a weekday night and $240 for a weekend night, she said.
Groves-Mussat said she was glad to finally be able to start and was proud of how many people supported F&F during the process of getting the text amendment added.
The order of events that led to Monday night’s conditional use permit began in August.
- In August F&F filed for a building permit for a six-unit bed & breakfast.
- County Codes Administrator Randy Tasa denied the request, citing in an October letter that approving it—without going through the normal planning and zoning process—could allow businesses with focuses such as solar panels, wind turbines, battery energy storage systems, adult-themed entertainment and manufacturing to set up shop on land where agriculture already occurs without any oversight from local officials.
- F&F appealed that and asked for a zoning interpretation that would allow it to build a six-unit bed and breakfast on its property at a Nov. 11 Board of Zoning Adjustments meeting.
- At that meeting, BOZA tabled a vote and scheduled a meeting for Dec. 1. In the interim, a transcription of the Nov. 11 meeting and findings of fact were to be delivered to county BOZA members to review all that had occurred in the long meeting on Nov. 11.
- Before the Dec. 1 meeting, though, county officials met with F&F representatives about the possibility of getting a text amendment added to the county’s zoning ordinances which would allow a bed & breakfast to be built on land zoned agriculture with a conditional use.
- At the Henderson County Fiscal Court’s Nov. 25 meeting, the fiscal court approved starting the process of adding a text amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance and sent the issue to the Henderson City-County Planning Commission to hold a public hearing and make a recommendation for the fiscal court.
- On Jan. 6, the Henderson City-County Planning Commission approved a recommendation to add small farm winery farmstays with up to nine guest rooms as a conditional use for land zoned agricultural to the county’s zoning ordinance. That recommendation was sent to fiscal court.
- The text amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance was approved after second reading on Feb. 10.