Free to B&B: Seattle's zoning tyrants.

• Author: Sullum, Jacob
• Position: Citings - Bed-and-breakfasts - Brief Article

TWO YEARS ago, concerned about a local shortage of bed-and-breakfasts, the Seattle City, Council unanimously approved an ordinance that loosened restrictions on such inns, allowing them in neighborhoods of single-family homes. Taking the city at its word, Julie and Blayne McAferty opened the Greenlake Guest House B&B last summer. The city is now trying to shut it down, under pressure from the couple's neighbors.

Among other things, the neighbors complained that the B&B changed the character of the neighborhood and that its guests were disturbingly friendly. "I've got people waving at me and I don't know who they are," said one.

The city, which threatened the McAfertys with fines of $75 a day if they failed to close the B&B by the end of March, does not claim the Greenlake Guest House is disturbing the peace or causing traffic problems. (The inn is located on a busy street near a commercial district.) Instead it cites renovations the McAfertys did to their home before opening the B&B, which included adding one dormer and expanding another on the second floor to enlarge the upstairs rooms.

The city says these changes...