When a new bed-and-breakfast is added to an established neighborhood, it definitely has an impact on the dynamics of that neighborhood, whether fully licensed and inspected or not.
Increased traffic, parking problems and added congestion are but a few of the problems neighbors will have to deal with.
I moved into my home in 1990.
At that time, all the houses on this rather long block were owner-occupied exclusively with the exception of one home where a room was rented to a college student.
That is not so now: One home was turned into a vacation rental and also has a barbershop in the back; another is rented to a group of people; another owner added a studio apartment.
People parked all over the place, blocking a “drop street” [a side street of an existing street that maintains the street’s name] so no one could get through.
It was a nightmare until last summer, when the city of Port Angeles put up “no parking” signs.
One can only imagine the chaos we’d have with the added traffic and parking problems that would naturally occur on this heavily traveled street should a B&B be added to our neighborhood mix.
B&Bs have a negative impact on established neighborhoods, no matter how neat and pretty they are.
It is not a neighborhood duty to support a money-making enterprise to boost tourism and the city’s tax base.
Dottie Hopkins,
Port Angeles