To the editor:

On 2/24/21 in a Zoom meeting, a home was brought up in a public hearing in front of the Board of Zoning Appeals for special exception for a tourist home.

The application clearly stated that the proposed tourist home did not meet the 250-foot barrier distance on two separate home residences. One residence is at 175 feet and the second at 153 feet. The guideline does state that in circumstances where the 250-foot barrier does not exist between homes, the 250-foot distance can be reduced if buffers such as woods or terrain will sufficiently reduce the impact of the proposed tourist home.

The proposed tourist home owner, a Brown County employee and resident, stated that they could plant a row of trees as a buffer. The Board of Zoning Appeals tabled the vote until 3/24/21 to give the owner of the proposed tourist home time to put together a proposal of what type of trees would be planted, stating that some trees grow quicker than others.

There was also talk of the proposed tourist home being handicap accessible.

I ask you: How can this home qualify as a tourist home? Clearly, it is not 250 feet from nearby residences and doesn’t have any buffer such as woods or terrain to protect my home from the impact of a tourist home.

The proposed tourist home sits in the middle of a 1-acre lot. I own a 2-acre lot. If the guideline of the 250-foot barrier encompasses my entire house and over half of my 2 acres, how can a row or two of newly planted trees be a sufficient buffer? While sitting on my front or back porch, or anywhere on my 2 acres, I can hear anyone talking from anywhere on the proposed tourist home 1-acre lot. From my bedroom I can hear car doors shut from the proposed tourist home. I can stand on my front porch and see not only the proposed tourist home but the next home as well (which is not 250 feet from this proposed tourist home either).

There was talk that there is only one other tourist home in the county that is handicap-accessible. So if this tourist gets approved, does that mean that I deserve to have the quality of my life, my sleep handicapped?

I’m just asking that the county uphold the guideline that they have set in place to protect residences like mine from the impact of a tourist home. If this proposed tourist home is approved, it will set a precedent in the county! If this proposed tourist home is approved, the guideline of a 250-foot barrier between residences around a tourist home can be reduced to at least 153 feet, as in my case, by doing a couple things: 1. Plant a few rows of trees and 2. Install a handicapped ramp and railings.

Thank you. The end.

Monty Coffey, Crooked Creek Road

Send letters to [email protected] by noon Thursday before the date of intended publication (noon Wednesday on holiday weeks). Letters must be signed by the author and include the writer’s town of residence and a contact method in case of questions.

Letters are the opinions of the writer. They are not verified facts.

Only one letter every two weeks, per writer, to allow for diversity of voices in the opinions section. Please be considerate of sharing space with other letter-writers and keep your comments concise and to the point. Avoid name-calling, accusations of criminal activity and second- and third-hand statements of “fact.”