COUNTRY HOME Owner asks township for permit

The zoning board may decide the night of the hearing, an official said.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HARTFORD -- A hearing will be held July 14 to determine whether a house used for adult parties that involve sexually oriented activities can continue to operate.
Atty. Mark Finamore, Hartford Township legal counsel, said Kay Hovis has filed an application for an in-home occupation conditional-use permit.
The zoning board of appeals will hear her case at 7 p.m. July 14 at the township hall.
Finamore said that Hovis' Country Home, on state Route 7, must be granted the permit to continue operating.
The Country Home is in a residentially zoned area and Finamore has said that Hovis has indicated she wants to use the dwelling to provide one or more rooms to have adult parties and engage in sexually oriented activities.
Neither Hovis nor her attorney, Robert Bouffard, could be reached to comment.
Requirements
According to the township's zoning regulations regarding an in-home occupation, Hovis would have to meet several requirements, including proof that the business provides a service, does not involve manufacturing or sale of items and that the traffic generated would not be greater than what normally would be expected in a residential neighborhood.
"We have sent notices to the neighbors that we will have the hearing," said Jim Davies, a member of the township board of appeals.
Davies said the board may make a decision the night of the hearing.
"It all depends on the information we get at the hearing," Davies said. "We have up to 30 days to make a decision."
In the 25 years that Hovis has been holding her parties, there have been few complaints, township officials have said.
Hovis has said that her weekend parties were gatherings of friends, and included singing and dancing as well as sex between consenting couples.
The business was shut down last month for zoning violations after Country Home's Web page was brought to the attention of Trumbull County and township officials by press reports.
The citation issued by zoning inspector William Eckart called for an immediate stop to the parties.
sinkovich@vindy.com