Tenn. neighbors balk at home fertility-music biz

[February 04, 2010]  KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Residents in a Knoxville's wealthy Sequoyah Hills neighborhood are alarmed that a man wants to convert his home into a duplex and run a music studio and fertility service out of it.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported David Perkins is asking the Metropolitan Planning Commission to allow the change, saying he wants to operate businesses that would involve music lessons and the coordinating of two fertility services.

"We are very much opposed to all of this," said Jim Bletner, board member of the Kingston Pike Sequoyah Hills Association., who said members would appear before the commission on Thursday to speak against Perkins' proposal.

A duplex would be out of character in the neighborhood and the businesses could intrude on neighbors' tranquility, he said.

Perkins -- a musician -- proposes to conduct music lessons in his home and book appearances from there. No performances would be held there, he said.

Neighbors said a previous MySpace.com posting by Perkins included a list of events: bamboo flute playing on Sundays; balloons, juggling and music on Mondays; a Family Music Gathering and Drum Circle on Tuesday, along with others.

Perkins told the newspaper he made up the list to pump up his business and attract more bookings.

"That was just hype," he said. "How big do I have to be to get somebody's attention to talk to me on equal-part terms as an entertainer? It's marketing; it's hype."

None of the events are taking place, and Perkins said he has removed them from his MySpace page.

Perkins operates two Web sites for part of his business called Family Building LLC, which he said helps couples who are trying to conceive.

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Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com/

[Associated Press]

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