Milton planners approve permit for bed and breakfast

Milton Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a special-use permit for a Tilney Street homeowner to operate a bed-and-breakfast.

At its Feb. 15 meeting, the commission voted to allow Richard Siess to run a three-bedroom bed-and-breakfast business at his property at 111 Tilney St, where he built a two-story house with an enclosed porch and a fenced front yard; he is also planning to live in the home. 

Siess, who has operated a bed-and-breakfast establishment and other businesses in Rehoboth Beach, said there will be enough on-site parking spaces for users of the three rooms that will be included in the bed-and-breakfast plan. The property is right on the corner of Reed and Tilney streets, two side streets that run between Union and Mulberry streets. 

Siess said he believed a bed-and-breakfast in that area would be beneficial to the community. There are other bed-and-breakfasts in Milton, with Inn The Doghouse on Chestnut Street being the most notable. 

The committee was receptive to the idea, preferring smaller bed-and-breakfasts, which fit into the town better than a hotel.

Town Solicitor Seth Thompson said bed-and-breakfasts, in addition to being a special permitted use in the residential district, have other conditions attached, including needing to be a single-family or occupied dwelling that can only be occupied by six guests at a time, no more than five consecutive nights each. A bed-and-breakfast cannot provide food or beverage services other than breakfast for guests within the building. 

Public comment on the proposal was largely supportive, with those commenting applauding what Siess is doing with the home and approving of having a small business in the area. 

Ryan Barron, 316 Reed St., did not support the application, saying the streets are too small to support the amount of traffic a bed-and-breakfast would bring in. He said Reed Street is a residential area that should not be used for a commercial business. Siess said the bed-and-breakfast is not expected to increase traffic on the surrounding roads. 

Commission Chair Richard Trask said he thinks the bed-and-breakfast could be a positive thing for the community, but he did advise Siess that he needs to be a good neighbor to those around him.