A former bed-and-breakfast, now housing Central Methodist University students, has become a point of contention for neighbors. The Megraw House Bed & Breakfast at the corner of Linn Avenue and Lucky Street was recently purchased by the university to function as a guest house, but now is housing an overflow of students.

Dr. Rebbecca Fenton and her husband, Stephen, who live nearby, presented a statement on behalf of several neighborhood residents to the Fayette City Council at its regular meeting Tuesday. They said that it was understood that CMU purchased the property to be used as a guest house. The university also owns a home, Coleman Hall, two houses south of the Megraw House, which is used as a guest house. However, Dr. Fenton explained that the Megraw House is currently being used as student housing or dorm space. “These observations have been confirmed through conversations with students,” she read from the statement.

The chief complaint from neighbors is that they weren’t adequately informed with regard to the use of the property for student housing.

Fayette Mayor Kevin Oeth said he had discussed the matter with CMU President Roger Drake prior to the sale. The university needed additional housing for the record-high enrollment it is experiencing during the fall semester.

Dr. Fenton also questioned the zoning of the neighborhood, which is single-family residential. However, Mayor Oeth explained that the Megraw House held a B&B exemption that allows the university to use it for student housing.

“It’s not exactly the perfect situation,” Mr. Oeth said. The Mayor said he was given assurance by Pres. Drake that the students living in the Megraw house would be hand-picked honor students and that the situation would be temporary. 

“Temporary is really what we’re looking for,” said Dr. Fenton. “I think that if they would communicate that to the neighbors…a simple letter…and defining temporary, and saying that is not going to extend indefinitely in your neighborhood. As homeowners, our property values are important to us. Students, historically, have not been good neighbors.”

Dr. Fenton, herself an Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at CMU, said she knows that college-aged students are not always as mature as one hopes. “Right now already the neighbors have complained about noise levels and the cars on the street. And there’s already trash in our yard.

“As an employee I didn’t want to come forward.”

In an email to this newspaper, Dr. Drake explained that the handpicked students are in “campus-owned housing,” which is governed by residence policies. “This is in stark contrast to private rentals,” he wrote.

Dr. Drake also said the ultimate plan for the property will be to use it as guest housing once the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has subsided. “We think of it as a strategy for one very challenging year. However, in the middle of a pandemic, decisions with definite timelines are always a bit suspect,” Dr. Drake wrote.

Of the concerns outlined in the statement, parking along the street, presumably by the students living in the house, has caused further congestion on the historic, brick-lined Linn Avenue. Dr. Drake said that those students should be parking in the Lucky Street lot, which is about a block away, or in the house’s rear parking area.

Council members expressed that parking issues have existed on Linn Street for some time. Fayette’s Director of Public Works, Danny Dougherty explained the difficulty of driving city trucks on the road due to the narrowness of the street, made worse with cars parked along the sides. It is currently not illegal to park along the side of the street, and the council showed aversion to enacting parking limitations there, due to the shared nature of some driveways for residents there.

“No one in the community was addressed,” said Dr. Fenton’s husband, Stephen. “That’s a fundamental lack of respect for the residents of our community. It was all heard through the grapevine, and that’s just not a way to do business.” He detailed issues including trash in his yard, additional noise at night, and the inability to back out of his driveway. However, he added that he doesn’t desire the city to take a heavy-handed approach to the matter.

Mayor Oeth said he would discuss the matter further with Dr. Drake and the head of the Planning and Zoning commission.