Fisher Park is getting another bed and breakfast following a ruling by NC Superior Court Judge Eric Morton on Thursday, Nov. 14.
The owners of Hillside, the historic 31 room mansion at 301 Fisher Park Circle, had applied to the Greensboro Zoning Commission for a special use permit to allow them to operate a bed and breakfast and were denied.
That denial was appealed to Superior Court and Judge Morton overruled the Zoning Commission and ordered that the special use permit be granted.
Most decisions made by the Zoning Commission can be appealed to the Greensboro City Council, but special use permits are considered quasi judicial and are appealed to Superior Court.
The Zoning Commission will be advised to comply with the court ruling at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 18.
The special use permit does come with specific conditions and they are:
- The property owner of the subject property shall maintain guest records in compliance with Greensboro’s Code of Ordinances Section 1311 and make those records available to the City’s Zoning Administrator on request.
- Required parking for this use shall be located onsite.
- There shall be no DJs, musical bands, amplified speakers or amplified instruments outdoors at any time or indoors after 10 p.m.
After reviewing the case, Judge Morgan said there was no “competent or material evidence” as to why the special use permit request should not be granted.
Hillside was already locally famous as the home built by Julian Price, who also built Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Co. into the largest corporation headquartered in North Carolina, but it became nationally famous when, in 2017, it was the subject of the A&E television show Hoarders.
At the Zoning Commission meeting in May, the Fisher Park Neighborhood Association expressed support for the bed and breakfast with conditions, but about 50 neighbors showed up to oppose the special use permit.
The vote to deny the permit by the Zoning Commission was 4 to 3.
