.jpg)
A request to allow a fifth unrelated person to reside in a single-family dwelling at 2345 Birch Ave. drew objections from neighbors during a public hearing before Buena Vista City Council on Thursday.
Scott Thatcher, owner of the house, is seeking a conditional use permit to bring the property into compliance with the city’s zoning regulations. Without a CUP, the number of unrelated residents sharing the house is limited to four.
Jeannie and Wayne Fitzgerald, who live at 545 E. 23rd St., said the number of people sharing the house is causing problems. “There’s too much traffic for our neighborhood,” said Jeannie Fitzgerald. Residents of the house, said Wayne Fitzgerald, are not obeying traffic laws – they’re speeding and disregarding a stop sign at the intersection. He also asserted that there are six-toeight people at the house at any given time.
Thomas Akers, who lives at 2356 Birch Ave., said he’s put up with “two years of this circumstance,” referring to problems created by having so many people sharing a house. He said he’d observed drunkenness and other bad behavior.
A plan by the home owner to add more off-street parking and reconfigure the living arrangements was included in Council’s agenda package. The Planning Commission earlier recommended approval of the CUP.
Council, which held a first reading on the proposal, will vote on it at its next meeting on Feb. 1.
