How to Open a Bed & Breakfast - Chapter 2 - The Planning Office

By Karla Jones Seidita, Home Economist
B&B Owner/Operator, Retired 

"Why do I have to do all this?

It's ONLY a bed and breakfast!"

Your B&B - no matter how small - is still a business and it's important to have it on a solid foundation right from the beginning.

The drive way from the barn to the
Mane House Country Inn

If you live anywhere but the most rural of areas, zoning is going to be your number one hurdle. 

But many areas also have planning offices that work hand in hand with zoning.

Planning offices look for things like adequate parking, use of public roads, entrance right of ways, signage and things to make sure your community works well for everyone who lives and works there.  

That's important.  

Your ideas have to fit in with the rest of the community.

Just like zoning, your local planning office probably has all of their requirements on line.  Not everything will pertain to you but read every word anyway.

View down the shady lane
from the Inn to the back of the barn.

If you're in a historic district, for example, changes you make to your property has to align with established historic requirements... paint colors, window types, fencing - what ever.

If you're in an urban area, off street parking may be required.

There maybe signage specifications, noise restrictions even things like gardens and trees or green space requirements.



The entrance to Cheesecake Farms
is a charming, environmentally
friendly gravel drive.

My point is that it's important to get a copy of your community's ordinances and study them in detail.  Not everything will apply to you but you need to be aware of things.

Never rely on hear-say or other peoples' opinions - not even the clerk in the town office.  

While a clerk may be well intentioned and helpful, you shouldn't expect that they know how the local ordinances apply specifically to you.  

A B&B is not the same as a 500 room resort or a shopping center or a 1000 home subdivision and being broad-sided with expensive and time consuming requirements that may not actually be required of you can leave you in B&B limbo. 

Go to the source and read the documents for yourself. It will help you maneuver through the sea of rules and regulations without drowning.

It's up to you to know the parts of the law that will benefit you and thpse parts that do not apply.