By Marc Knapp
Citizen Reporter
Charleston City Council recently agreed to amend the city ordinance relating to bed-and-breakfasts operations to make it easier to establish such entities in parts of the Elliotborough and Radcliffborough areas.
The change exempts potential B&B proprietors and owners from having to have a structure dating back at least 150 years in order to open a bed-and-breakfast establishment.
It was sought by the neighborhood associations as a way to motivate refurbishing and renovation of properties, many of which are neglected and run down.
There are some large, decaying Victorian structures that could very well lend themselves to development as bed-and-breakfasts, according to a spokesman for one of the neighborhood associations.
The existing ordinance confines bed-and-breakfasts to structures built before 1860. This will not apply to those in the Elliotborough and Radcliffborough areas.
However, B&B operators will have to comply with most other regulations, in particular, the provision regarding off-street parking. This was the major concern of some council members, who noted the present problem of finding parking in the area.