Bartlesville board approves special zoning permit allowing limited events at College View properties

The Bartlesville Board of Adjustment voted to approve a special zoning permit for 1811 and 1815 College View Drive that allows a bed-and-breakfast major home occupation-style use limited to accessory events, with conditions restricting event parking to on-property driveway spaces and other staff-recommended measures. The motion passed on a 4-0 roll call with one member recorded absent.

Planning staff told the board the applicants, Amanda and Matthew Hakola, own both properties and currently operate short-term rentals and truck-gardening on the lots. Micah Snyder, senior planner for community development, said the request seeks permission for limited accessory events (for example, dinners, garden tours and workshops) rather than a traditional bed-and-breakfast that provides overnight breakfast service. Snyder said the applicants proposed limiting events to a maximum of 16 attendees and no more than three such events per month.

Neighbors at the public hearing urged the board to consider traffic, parking and emergency-access impacts. Beth Anderson, who said she and her brother own 1807 College View Drive, told the board: “Our quiet cul de sac is not an appropriate place for this business.” Rob Boffin, who identified himself as a resident of 1807 College View Drive, said emergency access was his primary concern: “My biggest concerns ... is emergency vehicles getting in and out because I have a heart condition. I had to call 911.”

Applicants and supporters described efforts to limit impacts and to work with neighbors. Amanda Hakola told the board the applicants intended the events to “honor our neighbors” and to be a community-building activity. Matthew Hakola said the property at 1811 was vacant and dilapidated before they purchased and renovated it. A local chef, Hillary Klein, told the board the site (referred to in testimony as Tallow) has helped local agrotourism and the farm-to-table movement.

Snyder reviewed the zoning standards that apply to a bed-and-breakfast as a major home occupation and the staff recommendation. Staff noted the properties provide off-street parking and that the applicants submitted a parking diagram showing up to 11–12 event parking spaces (not including garages). Snyder said the fire marshal was consulted and emphasized that vehicles should not park abreast on the street so emergency vehicles can pass; staff recommended updating guest parking instructions to make those limits explicit.

Board members discussed possible additional conditions focused on parking limits and emergency access. After hearing comments from neighbors and the applicants, a board member moved to approve the special zoning permit subject to staff recommendations and an added requirement that vehicles associated with the permitted accessory events be confined to driveway/on-property parking spaces (the applicants volunteered to restrict event parking to the green driveway spaces shown on the submitted diagram). The motion was seconded and carried on a roll call vote.

Roll call recorded four affirmative votes. The board instructed staff to include the updated parking diagram and parking notes as a condition of approval, and retained the standard condition that the special zoning permit would expire if ownership of one or both properties changed or if the use converted to a traditional bed-and-breakfast serving breakfast to overnight guests. Snyder noted that the applicants must also obtain the major home occupation business license if the permit is approved.

The approval included the following explicit limitations discussed during the hearing: events limited to a maximum of three per month and a maximum of 16 attendees per event (as proposed by the applicants), parking confined to the properties' driveways as shown in the applicants' parking diagram for event periods, and a requirement that guests be provided written parking instructions. The board also left open the procedural option for the applicants to petition the board later for an amendment to the parking condition if a community consensus is reached and a specific trigger or date for reconsideration is provided.

The public hearing and vote closed the item; board members made no further changes to other operating conditions noted in staff's report. The permit carries the staff-recommended findings that the proposed use, with the stated conditions, would be compatible with the surrounding RS-5 single-family residential zoning in staff's view.