​SELMA WINCHESTER VA

WINCHESTER — A new owner hopes to convert the 148-year-old mansion at 514 Amherst St. into a bed and breakfast with a plethora of outdoor events.

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An ownership group headed by developer Bill McIntosh told the Winchester Planning Commission at its work session on Tuesday that it hopes to close on the $1.3 million property, commonly known as Selma Mansion, sometime next month.

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McIntosh is seeking a conditional-use permit (CUP) that would allow him to convert the single-family home, located in a Residential Office (RO-1) zoning district with a Historic Winchester District overlay, into a seven-bedroom bed and breakfast.

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The CUP application also requests permission to host up to 125 outdoor events per year on the 4.92-acre property. Gatherings would range from small daytime assemblies with less than 25 people to large-scale, catered activities with more than 100 attendees that could last as late as 10 p.m. weeknights and midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

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Winchester Planning Director Timothy Youmans said he has no qualms about allowing the home to be used as a bed-and-breakfast inn, but he advised the commission that the high number of outdoor events — weddings, birthday parties, reunions and so on — could have a negative effect on neighboring property owners.

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"The main focus is really on parking impacts, traffic impacts," Youmans said.

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Selma Mansion has operated as a single-family home since it was constructed in 1872.

 

It currently has limited parking, but McIntosh has proposed installing eight parking spaces, including one that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Additional vehicles could park on the grass or, if he obtains permission from neighboring property owners, in nearby areas including the parking lot next door at Selma Medical Associates. McIntosh has not yet provided the commission with letters from neighboring property owners, but said he plans to present them soon.

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"This is a very important aspect of the proposal that needs to be clearly spelled out in the conditions attached to the CUP, if approved by [City] Council," Youmans wrote in a staff report on the request.

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In order to approve the CUP, Youmans said, the Planning Commission and City Council would have to determine that McIntosh's proposal "would not have a detrimental impact on the public, nor be injurious to adjoining property owners or businesses in the area."

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"Even though this is a 5-acre site, the house and the backyard area are fairly close to some of those adjoining single-family homes," Youmans said.

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Commissioner Leesa Mayfield, who characterized the bed-and-breakfast inn as "a nice re-use for this historic home," is one of the neighbors who could potentially be impacted by McIntosh's outdoor gatherings.

 

She said she may recuse herself from voting on the CUP following a public hearing at the commission's next meeting on Dec. 15.

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Youmans suggested that a special condition be attached to the CUP requiring McIntosh to "immediately address concerns of the neighbors, especially with regard to noise and parking complaints."

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Another special condition, he said, would require McIntosh to provide traffic control on Amherst Street whenever he hosts events with 100 or more people.

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Attending Tuesday afternoon’s Winchester Planning Commission work session, which was held via videoconference, were Chairman Mark Loring, Vice Chairman John Tagnesi and members Leesa Mayfield, Paul Richardson, Lacey Burnett, Brandon Pifer and David Ray.

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— Contact Brian Brehm at bbrehm@winchesterstar.com

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