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BZA approves home-based pediatric occupational therapy business at 1648 Earl Court
Summary
The Murfreesboro Board of Zoning Appeals on April 23 approved special use permit Z25005 allowing Bridget Hill to operate a nature-based pediatric occupational therapy practice at 1648 Earl Court in an RS-15 single-family zone, subject to six staff conditions including appointment-only visits and a limit on on-site customers.
Murfreesboro’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special use permit April 23 to allow a home-based pediatric occupational therapy practice at 1648 Earl Court, a property zoned RS-15, by a vote of 4-0.
The permit, application Z25005, was requested by Bridget Hill to provide one-on-one pediatric occupational therapy primarily outdoors on the residence’s private yard, with limited indoor use during inclement weather. The board approved the application with six staff-recommended conditions, including appointment-only visits, on-site parking requirements and a restriction that the permit lapses if the property is sold or the applicant no longer lives there.
Planning staff told the board the use meets the threshold for board review because it will generate trips to the site rather than being a typical, non-trip-generating home occupation. Staff said the applicant intends to use about 132 square feet of interior space only when weather prevents outdoor activity, and that the proposed hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking on the driveway was described as adequate: the driveway measures roughly 20 by 42 feet and staff said it can accommodate two additional vehicles beyond the household’s personal cars.
Bridget Hill described the practice to the board and said she plans “nature based therapy, so using nature as part of the sensory experience for children and playing in sandboxes and, you know, the slides, the garden that I have already on my property, using those experiences to be a therapeutic experience.” Hill told the board she works “with children with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, ADHD, and sensory processing disorder, and general developmental delay.”
Staff’s recommended conditions, read into the record, require: 1) appointment-only visits; 2) no more than one customer on site at a time with no overlapping appointments; 3) hours limited to Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; 4) all parking for the home-based business on the subject property driveway; 5) the applicant include a signed copy of the BZA approval with her business license application; and 6) the special use permit shall lapse on sale or transfer of the property or when the applicant ceases to reside there. The staff report noted the applicant indicated she would limit daily visits and that sessions are one-on-one.
Board members asked whether the therapist needed any separate state licensure or site approval for the outdoor activities; Hill said she is licensed by the state and that occupational therapists routinely work in a variety of community settings and homes rather than in a fixed clinical facility. Hill also said she carries liability insurance for the facility.
No members of the public spoke at the hearing. After closing the public comment period, the board voted unanimously: Mr. Bachelor, Mr. Tibbs, Vice Chair Halliburton and Chair Sherry Young all cast aye votes. The permit was approved as conditioned.
The board moved on to the next agenda items after approving the application.
