Last week's topic: An Ellicott City woman recently was given approval to run a one-chair beauty parlor out of her home despite the opposition of many residents in her Centennial neighborhood. Some believe small service businesses are compatible in residential neighborhoods, while others believe they are disruptive and hurt property values.
To an entrepreneur, much good luck
I have been a householder in the Centennial area for over 20 years, and in that time I have marveled at the ingenuity of those of my neighbors who have been able to make a little extra money, if not their livelihoods, from businesses operated from their homes. There is a man down the street who sells everything from beeswax to zucchini. Another neighbor has a sewing/alteration business. Other neighbors offer home improvement services. Others sell kitchenware and cosmetics, and a legion more sell insurance and real estate.
It was recently reported that there is another neighbor anxious to join in this entrepreneurial parade, a woman who wants to operate a one-chair beauty parlor. There have been complaints that, somehow, offering this kind of practical service, as opposed to the others mentioned previously, is going to be disruptive or damaging to the property values of those who live near her.