By Hayleigh Gowans

Staff Writer

Residents in the R-3 district of the village will now be able to apply for and run bed-and-breakfast establishments at their homes, following a public hearing at the Fayetteville Village Board meeting Feb. 21.

Village Attorney Ted Spencer said in the past B&Bs were allowed within the village, but the code was at some point eliminated and hadn’t been updated. Mayor Mark Olson said the reasoning for passing this law was to have written provisions to allow for responsible residents to temporarily rent out rooms in their homes.

The local law states B&Bs are only permissible in R-3 (multiple family residential) zones, and owners must submit an application and receive approval from the village planning board. Other stipulations of the code are that owners must continue to reside in the dwelling as their principal residence, shall establish enough off street parking for the number of rented rooms, the number of guest per night is limited to eight and the maximum amount of time a guest can stay is 30 days.

Applicants must work with the code enforcement officer and fire department to ensure the dwellings are up to code and, if they are found to be breaking any stipulations, the planning board has the right to revoke their permit, the local law states.

Olson said often there are visiting professionals who need to stay in the area for an extended period of time, or people looking to visit the area and get a feel for the village of Fayetteville.

A public hearing on the local law was held at the Feb. 21 meeting, although no members of the public spoke against the local law. After determining the environmental impacts would be minimal in the State Environmental Review Quality application, the village board voted unanimously to adopt the local law.

For more information about this adopted law, go to fayetteville.ny.gov or contact the clerk’s office at 315-637-9864.