March 14 dinner mtg re:Greenlake B&B travesty:Join tv taping/dinner @ College Club

Friday, March 11, 2005

Item: Monday night dinner mtg/tv show taping re:Greenlake B&B travesty.

Subject: Invitation (no-host) to this Monday's (March 14) Downtown Seattle Republican Club dinner meeting for my interview of Blayne and Julie McAferty (Greenlake Guesthouse owners) and Jeannette Petersen (their attorney with the Institute for Justice) over the idiotic land use injustice being perpetrated by the City of Seattle on their bed and breakfast operation. (See links to, and text of, articles from Seattle Times below and see "No Room at the Inn" story at http://www.ij.org/ .)

This is a dinner meeting (no-host) and videotaping session for a television broadcast Thursday, March 17.

Dear friends, colleagues, and anyone I thought would be interested in and concerned with government fairness toward its citizens (or lack thereof), and especially unconstitutional restrictions to earning a living and land use controls gone amuck, including implications related to King County's recently passed "CAO" - Critical Areas Ordinance (And please forward at will...)

Item: Invitation to videotaping session following dinner meeting this Monday evening, March 11, 2005, in downtown Seattle, which any of you can attend and participate in.

Many of you are familiar with my emailings about the Downtown Seattle Republican Club's weekly Monday dinner meetings featuring a guest on some topic of interest. As part of the evening's program, following dinner and conversation, the featured guest is interviewed, on-camera, for a half-hour cable television program called "Republican Perspective", which airs the following Thursday, from 5 to 5:30 PM on cable television.

Guests have included Steve Hammond, Dave Irons, Kathy Lambert, Tim Eyman, George Nethercutt, Maggie Fimia, and hundreds of others over the years.

I invite you to join me this coming Monday, March 14, to be part of the "live studio audience" when our special guests will be Blayne and Julie McAferty, owners of the Greenlake Guesthouse (http://www.greenlakeguesthouse.com/) and Jeanette Petersen, an attorney with the Institute for Justice (http://www.ij.org/ ), who has taken their case.

Yours truly will be "citizen activist" turned "sometime tv journalist" as I "interview" Blayne McAferty and Jeanette Petersen.

We will discuss: the McAferty's "Catch 22" predicament; the not merely "unfriendly", but arguably "hostile" local climate toward business and reasonable land use and ability to earn a living in Seattle; possible hidden agendas; the possible impact of political contributions and connections revealed by a "google" search on certain players in this story; and other exciting topics.

It will be "deja vu all over again" after our experiences with so many other matters of great public import - e.g. the Alaskan Way viaduct, the CAO, sports stadiums, the GMA, Brightwater, Tent City 4, the King County Election mess, East Lake Sammamish Trail, etc.

The dinner meeting, followed by the videotaping of the interview, is from 5 to 7 PM at the College Club at the SE corner of 5th Avenue and Madison Street in downtown Seattle (diagonally opposite, and SE of, the new downtown Seattle Public Library). Anyone can attend.

The dinner menu is very reasonably priced, and even with a modest room charge for our private room, plus tax and automatic gratuity, the total probably won't exceed $12 to $16 plus any beverage you have. And, parking is FREE in the club's garage after 4:30 PM (garage entrance on 5th Avenue, approximately 75' south of Madison, park in any marked or unmarked spot except the one marked "chef").

The 28 minute taping will be aired on Channel 77 (the "SCAN", or Seattle Community Access Network channel) the following Thursday, March 17, from 5 to 5:30 PM.

If you are unable to attend, and have cable television, perhaps you can catch the later airing.

If you are going to attend, let me know by email so that we can give the club an idea of attendance so they can set places accordingly, etc. (By the way, and since people ask me, casual attire is fine. I only wear a coat and tie when I'm the interviewer/ee. And you don't need to be a college graduate to attend events there, despite the name of the club and the perception some folks have. While it's a private club, it's actually pretty casual.)

Directions and such:
The College Club is located in downtown Seattle at 505 Madison Avenue, on the SE corner of 5th Avenue and Madison; Telephone: 206-622-0624.FREE PARKING available after 4:30 PM for these events in the garage under the College Club building. The access to the garage is off 5th Avenue, on the east (left) side of 5th, very shortly past the intersection with Madison.
From the north: Take I-5 south to the Union Street/Seattle Convention Center exit. Turn left, or south, on 5th Avenue. Traffic tip: traffic is very congested in the late afternoon, and I recommend you be in the right hand of the two lanes turning left onto 5th Avenue, and remain in the center or right hand lanes until you get to the block with the library. This will avoid the back-up in the left-most lanes that will mostly be turning left just before the library to go east to get on I-5. Just as you cross the intersection with the library ahead of you on the right, move to the far left as fast as you can, and no later than by the time you get to the next intersection, which will be Madison Street. You will need to be in the left-most lane by that time, as, once you cross Madison Street, the entrance to the College Club's parking garage will come up very quickly on your left, just after 2 or 3 parked cars. Warning: the final left turn into the garage entrance is a little tight and narrow with cars right behind you sometimes!
From the south, travelling on I-5 northbound: Take the Exit at Madison. Make a left and cross over I-5, heading west, toward downtown Seattle. The next intersection and traffic light, on the west side of I-5, will be 6th Avenue. You will then plunge steeply downhill passing the front entrance of the College Club and coming to 5th Avenue. At that intersection you should then turn left, or south, on 5th Avenue, and within 3 car lengths turn into the College Club garage.

Armen Yousoufian

Below are links to, and text of, several related articles:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002194833_innkeepers03.html

Thursday, March 3, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 a.m.
There's no room at the inn for government nonsense
By Julie and Blayne McAferty
Special to The Times
Guest columnists

Julie and Blayne McAferty stand in front of the Greenlake Guesthouse.

In pursuing our dream to run our bed-and-breakfast, the Greenlake Guesthouse, we have learned that hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit aren't enough. Instead, to successfully operate a business in Seattle, it's necessary to have the government on your side.
To create our B&B, we found a beautiful house in the Green Lake area that was a perfect gem in the rough. The home is located on a high-traffic road directly across the street from Green Lake Park and has breathtaking views of the lake.
To bring the home up to current safety and code standards and to better accommodate our family and guests, we carefully added two dormers that were consistent with the home's original Craftsman style. After completing the remodel of our home, we excitedly opened the doors to the Greenlake Guesthouse in August 2004.
Our business has thrived. Despite the fact that we're a new B&B, we've enjoyed better than a 50 percent occupancy — a wonderful response that shows there is a demand for neighborhood B&Bs.
Now the city of Seattle is claiming we violated the law by making "exterior structural alterations" to our home to accommodate the bed-and-breakfast. But the fact is, we made improvements to our home that are similar to those made by many other neighbors. Even with the fully permitted changes, including the two modest dormers, our home looks like any other home in the neighborhood. Nothing about our home stands out as a B&B.
But certain neighbors complained to the city that our bed-and-breakfast brought people into our very busy neighborhood that they didn't know. Considering we are located across the street from one of the busiest parks in Washington, we don't know how our few well-mannered guests would stand out from the constant stream of joggers, bicyclists and the like.
Although the City Council recently and unanimously passed a law permitting new bed-and-breakfasts to open in single-family residential zones in Seattle, the city caved in to pressure from a handful of our neighbors to destroy our dream.
We were in disbelief that the city would seek to punish us and close a business that is clearly providing a valuable service to visitors of our city. The city's interpretation of its law means that we can never use our home as a bed-and-breakfast now that we have lovingly remodeled it.
To make matters worse, if we are forced to close down our business and sell our home because of the city's interpretation of the law, a new owner could purchase our home and open a bed-and-breakfast without being affected by our supposed violation of the law — all because he didn't remodel the home himself. This makes no sense at all.
The new interpretation of the law should make anyone considering opening a new B&B nervous. The interpretation is completely subjective and puts entrepreneurs in a vulnerable position should any neighbor raise even the most petty complaint.
Now we've filed a lawsuit to stop the city from shutting down our bed-and-breakfast. Our goal is to defend our constitutional right to run our business free from nonsensical government decisions.
The city's actions are harming entrepreneurs by bowing to those unhappy few who don't like a law that was fairly enacted. That's not the way our government should work. If a citizen is unhappy with a law, he should petition the government to change the law, not demand the city shut down a business that is operating under that law. We should have a government that is concerned most of all with protecting our rights — including our right to earn an honest living.
All we want is to stay in our home and continue to serve the community doing what we do best. This bed and breakfast is our American Dream.
Julie and Blayne McAferty are the owners and innkeepers of the Greenlake Guesthouse in Seattle. They are represented by the Washington Chapter of the Institute for Justice, http://www.ij.org/
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/2002201062_rams09.html
Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - Page updated at 12:46 p.m
Bruce Ramsey / Times editorial columnistWhat kind of law lets your neighbor shut you down?


The issue of the Greenlake Guesthouse is not whether the owners broke the law. Clearly, they did. The issue is whether the law makes sense.
The aim of Seattle's bed-and-breakfast law of 2003 was to open the door — very carefully — to B&Bs in single-family zones. The law requires a B&B in such a zone to be operated by the resident owner. It can have no more than three rental rooms. The owners can make "no exterior structural alterations to accommodate the bed-and-breakfast use."
The new law meant to forbid alterations to make the home look like a hotel. The law has long allowed a homeowner to make exterior structural alterations — dormers, for example, which is what Julie and Blayne McAferty built on their house at 7630 E. Green Lake Drive N.
Last year, they went to the Department of Planning and Development. They asked: Are we really forbidden to add two dormers? The city employee was helpful. Not to worry, he said. Just apply as homeowners. You are not a B&B yet. Fix up your house and declare it a B&B later. So they did. The city issued them a permit and they made $130,000 of alterations. The work was tastefully done, so their house looks like an unmodified 1920s Craftsman.
Last August, they opened for business, with room rates of $119 to $199. Julie kept her day job as a nurse and Blayne minded the B&B. In November came the thunderbolt. Threatened by a lawsuit from a neighbor, the Department of Planning and Development had changed its mind about the two dormers. The Greenlake Guesthouse was to shut down (a decision deferred because of a lawsuit).
Shutting down B&Bs like the Greenlake Guesthouse is "not what we intended," says Councilman Richard Conlin, who wrote the law. He suggests the ordinance may have to be repaired.
The McAfertys are trying to overthrow it. They are represented by the Institute for Justice, a public-interest law firm that aims to expand the constitutional rights of small-business owners and entrepreneurs. Their lawyer, Jeanette Petersen, is not arguing that the McAfertys are innocent under the Seattle B&B ordinance, but that the ordinance unconstitutionally restricts their right to earn a living.
This is a principle with implications. It suggests that your neighbors shouldn't be able to stop you from working at home unless your work harms them in some verifiable way — by making noise or odor, by taking away your parking space or by raising the risk of disease or crime.
That would change more than Seattle's B&B law. The city's general ordinance on working in a single-family-zoned house allows you only one outside employee, one delivery per weekday and none on weekends. You may post a sign no larger than 64 square inches, which is smaller than a sheet of copy paper, and it must have only your name on it. You may not put your address in any advertisement or directory, and if you put it on your business cards you must add, "By appointment only."
Can the city of Seattle compel you to put that on your business card? Attorney Bruce Johnson of Davis Wright Tremaine, an authority on the right of commercial speech, says the ordinance "doesn't sound like it passes muster under the First Amendment" and is vulnerable to a lawsuit.
And the McAfertys are making such a claim. Their issue is a sign, which the B&B ordinance forbids. Last year, Blayne McAferty applied for a 15-square-foot sign and was turned down. He says, "Why can a day care have a sign out and I can't?"
You can see where this is going. One side will say, "See? You're creating a commercial district. It should all be forbidden." That way is easy but not reasonable. In truth, a B&B in a restored Craftsman is not the same as a Ramada Inn, just as a mother-in-law apartment is not the same as a condominium high-rise. A reasonable freedom to be self-employed is part of city life, and needs to be accommodated.
Seattle's answer is to write narrow, restrictive laws but not enforce them unless someone complains. Your freedom thus depends not on the law, but on your neighbors — and not on the majority of them, either, but on the most intolerant one.
As a system, it is not particularly fair or conducive to making a living, but it is what we have until we think of something better.
Bruce Ramsey's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is bramsey@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company