The Mount Vernon Municipal Planning Commission voted on May 14 to wait until its June 11 meeting to consider Nicole Miller's request to give her Miller Manor conditional use as a cultural facility, so rules on the size of events and hours of operation can be established.
The decision matters for both the applicant and the community, as it will determine whether Miller Manor can operate as a small-scale art space and host public events under specific guidelines. The commission is considering how such a designation might affect neighborhood character, parking, and local tourism.
Nicole Miller, owner and resident of the property at 105 W Pleasant St., said her goal with the historic home from the 1860s is to use it as a small-scale, low-impact art space. She manages activities on the property. One of those activities is the Market at the Manor, an annual arts and vintage market, the first weekend of October. Miller limits it to 35 vendors, whose arrival is staggered. It operates during daytime hours with visitors parking on Route 3, Main Street, and surrounding streets. She said the last market had approximately 400 people attend from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Coffee and baked goods food trucks were on site, according to a video recording of the meeting by the City of Mount Vernon.
Olivia Toth of the Knox County Convention and Visitors Bureau said in support of the request for conditional use for a cultural facility that "just from a tourism perspective, this is something that again helps us kind of stand out and offer something that is not always so closely located downtown. There are a lot of wedding venues, but something that again is more curated, more of an art public space, is unique to us, so I think it really adds to the character and charm that we already have established here."
Mount Vernon Development Services Manager Lacie Blankenhorn said her only concern was parking and neighborhood disruption. No complaints have been received. City Inspector Scott Zimmerman said that if food or drinks are being sold, the applicant needs to make sure the Knox Health Department has issued proper certifications. He said the property was immaculate, and he wanted to encourage this kind of improvement in other properties.
Erin Fitzpatrick said she and her husband live north of Miller's property and share a property line. Fitzpatrick said previous neighbors were not ideal, but praised Miller's vision for improving house values through events at Miller Manor; Marcus Fitzpatrick added that there have not been any parking problems. Zimmerman suggested that if approved, limits should be set on event size and hours; therefore, commissioners voted to continue their decision until June 11.
