Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 25, 1990                   TAG: 9004250470
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN 
SOURCE: MONICA DAVEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

BED-BREAKFAST PLAN OPPOSED

The six-bedroom, two-dock home on Smith Mountain Lake will look the same. Except for a little sign outside.

To some of his neighbors, though, everything will be different.

"Dreams of life at the lake in Bedford County will be shattered," neighbor William Richardson said.

Earles wants to turn his home in a Moneta subdivision on Mockingbird Hill into a bed and breakfast. The plan scored well - 107.5 points - under the county's Land Use Guidance System and got the county staff's blessing.

But on the second aspect of LUGS - a consensus from his neighbors - Earles' plan did not score so well Tuesday night at the longest and loudest LUGS public hearing since the ordinance was passed in October.

Earles, who applied for the commercial designation at the request of a potential buyer of the house, says a bed and breakfast would fit nicely into his residential neighborhood.

With an owner on the premises, it promises quiet and controlled guests, compared with daily and weekely rental properties all around the lake, he said. It would only be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Earles pointed out.

A few neighbors who defended Earles' idea said bed-and-breakfast inns generally draw middle-aged people who have no children and are looking for a little peace and quiet.

But some of Earles' neighbors say the so-called bed and breakfast would turn into nothing more than a motel, with increased traffic on their private road and decreased property values.

Some of the 16 opponents of Earles' plan said the place would turn into a rooming house for fishermen who were sure to arise early and noisily head for the lake at 5 a.m.

Bringing a commercial establishment into a residential neighborhood in a subdivision would set a threatening precedent for all subdivisions in Bedford County, Richardson said.

But Earles said there were businesses in the subdivision already, including Beacon Light Marina & Yacht Club and three businesses in homes.

Some neighbors, meanwhile, countered that the woodcarver, fishing guide and lawn care provider - the three establishments Earles referred to - did not really constitute businesses.

With the 90-minute hearing done, the issue was left to the county supervisors, who will decide in two weeks after getting a recommendation from the Planning Commission.

Earles said he agreed with some elements of LUGS. "But the way it's going now, it's turning neighbor against neighbor. I'd like to remain friends with them," he told the supervisors.

As Earles rose to make one more comment, he was booed by the audience, his neighbors.