But last year, the shopping center began landscaping the grassy area and asked the charities to find a new location. On March 24, soon after Owensboro Hospitality House lit the first fire of the year to barbecue 600 chickens, a nearby homeowner became upset about the smoke and complained to the bank and the planning commission. Jim Mischel, associate director of the planning commission's building and electrical inspection department, said, technically, if food is sold on the vacant lot, the lot should have paved parking for the cooks and the customers. There is paved parking next door at AREA Bank and behind the lot at Emory Center. But Noffsinger said planning and zoning regulations require paved parking on the lot itself.
Charities say the chicken sales are a major source of income.
But we're sensitive to the complaints from the neighbors, too. We're trying to work out a win-win situation. Higginbotham said the planning commission gave the bank a 30-day extension to close out the chicken sales until a solution can be reached. The extension ended May 4.