Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
MELIA BOWIEIf New Port Richey approves, Kathleen Wolf and her husband would have the city's first bed and breakfast.
NEW PORT RICHEY - Looking to take advantage of an underused city ordinance, Pasco School Board member Kathleen Wolf and her husband, David Wolf, plan to start a bed and breakfast at their home in Jasmin Point Estates.
The couple is seeking a zoning exemption to convert their four-bedroom, three-bathroom home into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom inn per a 1998 ordinance allowing the conversion of single family homes.
If approved, it will be New Port Richey's first B&B, said Fred Metcalf, director of development services for the city.
"We've had several others, but they never got through the application process," Metcalf said.
That includes failed plans for a Key West-style riverfront inn at the entrance to Main Street.
A Hudson couple's proposal for a B&B with six to eight units, private baths and a wedding gazebo hit the skids last month after talks with city staff.
County Commissioner Peter Altman stepped in soon after with a different project for the site. His plans for vacation rentals, a waterfront restaurant, retail shops and a canoe/kayak outfitter gained council approval in mid April.
Now the Wolfs are looking to operate the area's first bed and breakfast.
They applied to the city for a zoning exception April 25 to allow the use in their residential neighborhood.
"We have more bedrooms than we need since our three kids are grown," Mrs. Wolf said this week. "My husband is retiring in a few years and wanted to make sure he had something to do."
Not to mention: "I can make a pretty good breakfast," she said with a laugh.
The couple began planning nine months ago.
The City Council is set to hear the zoning request on June 17.
The bed and breakfast would require some remodeling and decorating. State and fire marshal permits also would be needed.
Wolf is not yet sure what they would charge for a stay at the inn but said it would be competitive with similar establishments elsewhere in the Tampa Bay area.
Right now "there aren't that many in the area," she said, noting a few in Dunedin, Crystal River and Dade City.
For those wanting to relax in west Pasco, "this will be a little closer."
The Wolfs would keep an apartment inside the 2,224-square-foot house; guests would share a living room, dining room, fireplace and pool.
If all goes well, Mrs. Wolf said she hopes to begin the project early next year.
"We have a lot of work to do yet."
- Melia Bowie covers the city of New Port Richey. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6229, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6229. Her e-mail address is bowie@sptimes.com