A truce has been declared between the Inn at 835 and nearby residents wary
of the elegant bed & breakfast’s expansion plans.
With no objection from the Vinegar Hill Neighborhood Association, the inn’s owners recently received almost complete approval from both the Historic Sites Commission and the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission to build a 4,000-square-foot facility to replace the current reception area — a big, white party tent.
Originally, people living near the B&B on South Second Street feared the permanent structure would bring more of the same problem they have experienced with the tent — namely loud music and other noises that accompany wedding celebrations [Dusty Rhodes, “Party poopers,” July 8]. But last week, B&B owners Court and Karen Conn, along with their attorneys and architects, invited area residents to the Inn for a meeting. Job Conger, president of the VHNA, says the group spent three solid hours hashing things out.
“The major accomplishment was that . . . we did prove ourselves capable of discussion about this, and as a result the Conns have promised to be more vigilant about keeping the noise down and respond faster to neighborhood complaints,” Conger says.
He admits that the Conns’ promise to be more sensitive might not seem like a major concession, but says the newly civil mood between the inn and its neighbors signifies true progress. For the past four summers, communication between the two parties has consisted of frustrated phone calls about the noise, Conger says.
“The big effort was getting these guys together, face to face, with the Conns,” he says.
The meeting was all business, Conger reports: “Nothing was served. Nothing to eat and nothing to drink. . . . They could not have won with that.”
But the Conns did promise tangible improvements, including the use of soundproofing drywall, wrapping the building in cement board, and the elimination of a door that would have opened onto the street, channelling noise directly into the neighborhood.
“We’re going to do everything we physically can to make the place soundproof. And that was our intention all along,” Court Conn says. “Then, if they [the neighbors] have concerns, they’re to call us. We’re going to sit on the deejays and the bands harder than we ever have.”
The July 20 meeting engendered enough positive rapport that Conger had nothing but nice things to say when the case came up before the Planning and Zoning Commission the following evening. “There is evidence of significant compromise,” he told the board. The proposal passed, pending approval of the Historical Sites Commission.
A week later, the mood at that meeting was much the same. Historical Sites approved the banquet hall, pending confirmation that the color scheme is in keeping with the neighborhood.
“This is a done deal,” Conger says.
Next stop for the proposal is City Council on Aug. 16.
Conger isn’t celebrating yet, even though he believes the proposal will pass. “The time for tea and crumpets will come after this thing is done,” he says.
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2004.
