Board of Aldermen to vote on in-home massage business that neighors oppose

About a dozen of Patricia Wischmann's neighbors showed up at a public hearing last month in opposition to the Jackson Board of Aldermen granting her a special-use permit that would allow her to operate an in-home massage business.

At the hearing, neighbors voiced concerns that a business on Priest Street would lead to additional traffic, creating problems.

With opposition to the permit, aldermen tabled the vote until tonight's meeting, allowing them time to visit the area and see if traffic could become a problem.

Gary Laurentius said while the area is zoned as a general residential district, he didn't want to see it become a business district through the granting of special-use permits.

Another Priest Street resident said the neighborhood wasn't designed to accommodate the traffic volume often associated with a business area.

"It's a single-family residential area. I'm concerned with traffic flow," Marty Platz said. "It's not appropriate at this time, bringing in a business."

Others expressed concern for the safety of neighborhood children who often play in yards and sidewalks along the street.

Keith Lipps lives on neighboring Henderson Street and said the way the Wischmann house is situated on the corner, massage clients could turn on to Priest Street, not realizing children could be in the area. He said while this wouldn't be too much of a problem during school hours, there was a potential for danger whenever children were off school.

Wischmann said her house was able to accommodate up to four cars at a time in her driveway, and clients wouldn't need to park on the street. She also said the nature of her business is such that she can only have one client at a time, with the possibility of another client waiting for an appointment.

She said she couldn't foresee any of the traffic problems her neighbors did.

Two supporters spoke in favor of granting Wischmann the special-use permit, but neither of them were from the neighborhood.

Diana Prince of Oak Ridge, one of Wischmann's clients, agreed that with only being able to work on one client at a time, the in-home business wouldn't generate too much traffic.

Laura Henry of Millersville is a friend of Wischmann's and said the number of massages given is typically about three a day.

"It's not going to be a big production," she said.

Janet Sanders, Jackson building and planning superintendent, said each alderman is responsible for his or her own research, but none had requested any additional information from her, nor did they request a staff recommendation.

Julie Platz said neighbors will attend tonight's vote to ensure that aldermen know the neighbors are still opposed to the permit.

cbartholomew@semissourian.com

243-8600

Pertinent address:

101 Court St., Jackson, MO

915 Priest St., Jackson, MO