Plunkett’s bed and breakfast under fire

Published 9:02pm Saturday, November 3, 2012
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Austin resident Peter Plunkett is preparing to turn his historic house into a bed and breakfast, but not all his neighbors are on board.Sharpe

At a public hearing during Monday’s Austin City Council meeting, Plunkett will appeal for a conditional use permit to make part of his home a bed and breakfast. The owner of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed S. Pearl Elam house at 309 21st St. SW asked the Austin Planning Commission for a conditional use permit in October to turn the house into a small bed and breakfast. The motion passed with a 5-3 vote to send the matter to the City Council.

About 30 other neighbors, however, signed a letter speaking out against the bed and breakfast, describing the move as damaging to their property value and the peaceful nature of the neighborhood. They will have a chance to speak out against the permit Monday.

Some are in favor of the development. The Austin Convention and Visitor’s Bureau wrote a letter of support on Plunkett’s behalf Oct. 9, noting it was good for tourism, and several of Plunkett’s neighbor’s have also moved to support him.

The home has been in Plunkett’s family since 1989. He said in October people have stopped by his house through the years to take pictures, and some have asked to see the inside, so he sees this as a way to promote tourism in Austin.

“The Elam home is the object of much curiosity and interest by the public as evidenced by many who drive by slowly to take a look,” Plunkett wrote in a letter to the Planning Commission.

He said he will keep it low-key, with no parties or special events, he won’t sell food or liquor, and won’t have signs that will intrude on neighbors. He said he will still live there, but the back half of the home will be divided and accommodate one or two couples.

“It’s a low-key type of thing, but it’s really a great deal for Austin to have a famous architect on display,” Plunkett said.

 

Other business

During the meeting, the council will also decide whether to:

—grant the Planning and Zoning Department the power to contract to remove junk and illegally stored vehicles from four Austin properties: 1008 Oakland Ave. W, 1007 Fifth Ave. NE, 1005 Eighth Ave. NE, 1005 Fifth Ave. NE.

—allow Sterling State Bank to block off the west end of First Avenue Southwest in front of the bank from 3 to 8 p.m. Nov. 29 for wagon rides.

—allow the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce to use Main Street from Fourth to First avenues and the city’s portable stage for its Christmas in the City kickoff Nov. 23.

 

—No work session will follow Monday’s council meeting.

 

—Adam Harringa contributed to this report.

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  • instructor12

    This house has been here in Austin for years and how much business has it brought in to Austin? How much business will one or two couples bring in? The only one that will benefit by this is the Plunkett’s.

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  • Dayvid_R

    “This house has been here in Austin for years and how much business has it brought in to Austin”? – instructor12

    Little to none, as, the home is not open to the public, nor promoted to it, nor is it registered on a single major FLW tour, in-fact; in the grand-scheme of FLW homes: the Elam (Plunket) house has remained very low-key, under neath the radar to most FLW enthusiasts…

    “How much business will one or two couples bring in? The only one that will benefit by this is the Plunkett’s”. – instructor12

    Do you have statics, data, or perhaps a single instance of logic which may validate your opinion?

    More so, the attraction of Wright’s architectural significance proceeds well beyond the confines of any one personal opinion, nor the city of Austin’s, nor the state of Minnesota’s, nor the United States of America’s…. Doing a quick google search would provide anyone with practical insight towards the massive interest FLW’s Architectural legacy has captured: may I recommend that you look into FLW’s Preservation Trust, FLW Open Houses, FLW Tours, the American Institute of Architects opinions of Mr. Wright’s homes being made available to the public, and perhaps reverently so, you could look into similar FLW homes which are open to the public? You may be surprised to see an opinion (or two, or three, or four…million) are out there which very much so differ from your own, as some of the visitors (to Wrights homes) have claimed profound cognitive altering experiences towards their personal lives, towards nature and towards how they feel about the totality of existence – thats kind of amazing, right, that a mere visit to a home he designed could do that to somebody?

    I suppose, one could conduct studies of economical stimulus, and additional pros and cons of opening a FLW house to the public by observing the following instances: Darwin Martin Home (Buffalo, NY), Staley House (Ohio), Dobkins House (Ohio), Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (Milwaukee, WI), B. Harley Bradley House (Kankakee, IL), Duncan House (Acme, PA), Francis Little House II (Minneapolis, MN), Gordon House (Silverton, OR), Oak Park Home & Studio and so on and so forth….. (all of the Homes have phone numbers available to the public, I encourage you to look them up, and call them….)

    And of course: Falling Water (considered by many to be amongst Wright’s greatest contributions to Architecture), was opened to the public in 1964, as of 2008 over 6 million visitors have visited it….

    Tootles

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  • ChicagoStyle

    I bet it will bring as much business to Austin as the flowers on downtown.

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  • ChicagoStyle

    I bet it brings more business to town than a $3,600,000 Roosevelt Bridge

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  • Lexxfan

    That’s funny. It’s good that someone like you wasn’t in charge of rebuilding European cities after they were destroyed in WW2, or many parts of Berlin, Warsaw or London would be nothing more than simple concrete block or quonset hut structures. Just think of how much money could have been saved if all those darn old buildings could have been bulldozed instead of being re-built! Of course, no one would have any interest in living there or visiting there anymore, but just think of the cost savings…yawn. There’s more to living in this world than just how many pennies you have in your piggy bank.

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    • leftthehatebehind

      Well said Lexxfan.

      How would a bed and breakfast be damaging to someone’s property value or make the neighborhood noisy?? A couple people staying in the house will do that? Wow, people are so petty. Why not encourage a new business in town? People are so negative. It is not like it is being rented as a party house for college kids.

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