BY MICHELLE KEY
PUBLISHER
OPELIKA — The Bed & Breakfast debate is still ongoing in the city of Opelika. During Tuesday night’s city council meeting, the council held public hearings on two different versions of a text amendment to the existing ordinance with one version being more restrictive and the second being less restrictive in nature.
One of the key differences between the two is the requirement of facilities being owner-occupied in the more restrictive version and the allowance of operation by the owner or an operator or innkeeper/manager.
The more restrictive version reads, “Bed and Breakfast uses shall only be permitted for owner-occupied residential units. The owner shall be available and on-call within Lee County at all times during any guest occupancy.”
The least restrictive version reads, “Bed and Breakfast uses shall only be permitted for owner-operated or manager-operated dwelling units, the operator shall reside within Opelika city limits. The innkeeper/operator shall be available and on-call within the city limits at all times during any guest occupancy.”
Leif Espelund, one of the co-owners of the Heritage House, and Allison Kovak, one of the owners of the Renfro House, both addressed the council asking that neither of the proposed ordinances be approved when they come up for a vote during the Oct. 20 council meeting.
“I would like to use my time to request that both of these amendments be voted down,” Espelund said. “Both of them contain provisions that could really negatively impact our business as it stands today and its future potential growth. The most immediate one for us is the provision [requiring] the owner or operator, or innkeeper, depending on which one you’re looking at be located physically in the city or county limits when any guests are in the residence. That is a pretty onerous restriction for us. Most of the time we are there, but there are times that we have to run an errand to Auburn or sometimes even go to Atlanta.”
Espelund also spoke out about the restriction on the number of units which is less than what state law limits and the requirement that all the units have to be in the main building as well as the restriction on the number of days a guest can stay.
“There is a 29-day guest maximum length of stay,” he said. “I think this regulation is written a little bit poorly, because it is unclear whether that is consecutive. The assumption is, and that is what we’ve been told but it is not spelled out clearly so it could be 29 days in a year, or 29 days forever which would certainly affect us as we have a lot of repeat guests. We have occasionally had guests that have stayed for 29 days or more and we would like to pursue guests that might want to stay [longer.] I would like to reiterate that we would like to see both of these voted down. We are really proud of the work that we’ve done. Since we are the only Bed and Breakfast I see no reason to regulate us further,” Espelund said.
Kovak talked about their original request to rezone their property as an Institutional zone and asked that the council consider reintroducing that request.
“Our original request, made under the advisement of the Opelika Planning Department, was to zone our home Institutional,” Kovak said. “That proposal was tabled, wisely [at the time,] and now we have two amendments before us. However, both have caused concern and the fact that two even exist — in my opinion — just shows how unclear this issue has become. At its core, this has always been about one property — our home — nestled between two institutional properties. The Planning Department’s original recommendation made sense because of that context and it still does today.
“But since then, we’ve learned something really remarkable. Forney Renfro, the son of the man that built our home and one of the early visionaries of the city and helped its expansion, created an exception with the city’s approval allowing for our home to operate as a bed and breakfast. That discovery confirms what the Planning Department first advised to us was the right fit, both as historically and practically. I am also asking for you to vote down both amendments. They lack unity in our city right now and I would ask that you reintroduce the original request for Institutional zoning. Right now, us and the Heritage House are the only properties with legal opportunity to operate [as a bed and breakfast,] but I sincerely ask that you not add new restrictions that will burden existing businesses who have invested the in city with so much care and integrity.”
Both of these proposed ordinance amendments were introduced for first reading during the council meeting.
Additional Public
hearings
Public hearings were also held for demolition cost assessments for three properties, 2404 Old Columbus Road; 2602 Lafayette Parkway and 103 Ave. B. The council also approved the assessments for the three properties later in the meeting.
In other business
- The council approved a downtown street closure request for the Red Clay Bike Night event on Oct. 23.
- The council approved a downtown street closure request for the Fifth Annual Glow for Epilepsy event on Nov. 2.
- The council approved a bid from Ark Remediation LLC in the amount of $114,900 for the G. W. Carver Hall Lead Abatement Project.
- The council approved a bid from Williams Fire Apparatus for services on an as-needed basis for fire apparatus inspection, preventive maintenance and repairs for the fire department.
- The council approved a bid from Perfect Fit Image Apparel Inc. for Uniform Purchases on an as-needed basis for the police department.
•The council approved expense reports from various city departments. - The council approved a resolution to designate city personal property surplus and authorized its disposal.
- The council approved the purchase of eight two-way radios and related equipment from Motorola Solutions for the amount of $63,432.56 for the police department.
- The council approved the purchase of eight in-car camera systems and body cameras for the police department from Motorola Solutions for an amount not to exceed $77,020.80.
•The council approved the purchase of eight police equipment for police package automobiles from Emergency Lighting by Haynes in the amount of $198,779.06. - The council approved the purchase of a Dakota4-JC Building, a pre-fabricated restroom building, for Springvilla Park from CXT Incorporated in the total amount of $187,177.87.
- The council approved a five-year subscription from CDW for a five-year subscription to Mimecast for the amount of $125,003.97 per year for a total amount of $625,019.85 for Mimecast Security Awareness Training and Control of AI Systems.
- The council approved the purchase of 438.60 stream mitigation credits from Westervelt Ecological Service for $63,597 for the Hi Pack Drive Extension Project.
- The council approved the purchase of 0.38 wetland mitigation credits from McLemore Mitigation Bank for $17,100 for the Hi Pack Drive Extension Project
- The council approved a resolution to amend the Organizational Chart of the Parks & Rec Department.
- The council approved a resolution to approve certain tax abatements and exemptions for Daewon America Inc. The company announced plans to construct a new inventory warehouse, which involve a capital investment of approximately $2 million.
- The council approved a $1.353 million professional services agreement with ESG Engineering LLC for design and construction engineering services in connection with wastewater system improvements at the Northeast Opelika Industrial Park.
- The council approved a right-of-way license agreement for Dickson Place Subdivision signs.
- The council approved a temporary sidewalk closure agreement with First Presbyterian Church of Opelika.
- The council approved a request to waive building and construction permit fees for houses being built by Auburn Opelika Habitat for Humanity.
- The council approved an annual appropriation in the amount of $3,500 for fiscal year 2026 with Christian Care Ministries.
- The council approved an annual appropriation in the amount of $25,000 for fiscal year 2026 with Circles East Alabama.
- The council approved an annual appropriation in the amount of $250,000 for fiscal year 2026 with Auburn Opelika Habitat for Humanity.
- The council approved an annual appropriation in the amount of $30,500 for fiscal year 2026 with The Museum of East Alabama.
- The council approved a special appropriation of $2,000 to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Mu Sigma Omega Chapter.
- The council approved a special appropriation of $1,000 to Compassionate Hands of Hope Inc. for the fifth annual Glow for Epilepsy event on Nov. 2.
- The council approved a special appropriation of $1,000 to the East Alabama Community Ballet for 2025 Nutcracker Performance.
- The council approved a special appropriation of $1,000 to The Arts Association of East Alabama from Ward 4 Reserve Fund.
- The council approved an ordinance to amend Chapter 28 of the City Code of Ordinances – Electric Rates and Surplus Revenues.
- The council introduced an ordinance to approve a rights-of-way use agreement with C Spire for its first reading.
- The council introduced an ordinance which would approve a second amendment to an Option and Lease Agreement with Level-Up Assets One LLC for its first reading.
