B&B owners requesting rezoning for wellness retreat center

Charlotte Charfren, the owner of a former bed-and-breakfast inn on North Tubb Street in Oakland, wants to re-establish the inn and create a wellness retreat center for events such as yoga and life-coaching classes, meditation courses, teacher-training workshops, retreats and an occasional wedding.

The Oakland Manor House would be operated by Charfen as medical director, Ramona Crabtree-Falkner as health and wellness program director and Cynthia Schultz as executive chef and resident innkeeper.

Crabtree-Falkner and Schultz appeared before the Oakland Town Commission on March 28 to request a special exception and a change in the zoning, from Single Family Residential to Residential and Neighborhood Commercial. The existing use is as a single-family residence.

The commission expressed interest in the plan, which calls for the addition of limited activities in the quiet residential neighborhood. But the elected officials requested further information upon hearing that Charfren, a medical doctor, wanted to practice integrated medicine, such as vitamin therapies.

Commissioner Mike Satterfield told the applicants that the commission needed a better understanding of what Charfren would be doing at the center.

Schultz said there is no intent to store prescription medicines onsite.

The commission approved the first reading of the ordinance with stipulations that the applications would return to a future meeting with answers regarding parking, Dr. Charfren’s role and the extent of the special events planned.

The original B&B was established by special exception in May 2000.

IN OTHER NEWS:

• Oakland Police Chief Steven Thomas used a grant to purchase 11 Automatic External Defibrillators, one for each of the town's police vehicles. The value of these life-saving devices is $24,000; the town received the grant money after all OPD personnel completed Heartsaver CPR/AED provider training through Orange County Emergency Medical Services.

“We roll out with the fire department on calls, and generally, we arrive on the scene before the fire department. We provide another set of eyes,” Thomas said. “These machines are awesome. They basically tell what you can and cannot do.”

• Commissioners discussed the future of the town’s community garden, which was started on Sadler Avenue in 2011. A majority of the 28 plots are rented, but many of them are overgrown and an eyesore, Town Manager Dennis Foltz said. Mayor Kathy Stark said she doesn’t want to see it disappear and that the town should remarket the garden in hopes of attracting new residents. The cost is $10 annually to rent a plot.

•  Oakland issued a proclamation celebrating Arbor Day, which helps the town keep its Tree City USA designation. This is now its 13th year.

Contact Amy Quesinberry at [email protected].