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Poolesville's Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception request from Drs. Robin Mevissen and Thomas McInnes to operate their optometry business, Poolesville Vision and Contact Lens Service, out of their home on March 6, according to town documents.

The couple's next-door neighbors, Don and Linda Barnes, asked for reconsideration in April, but the three-member board again voted unanimously to grant the special exception on June 12, the documents state. The town's Planning Commission provided a favorable recommendation both times.

The Barnes appealed the board's decision in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Nov. 7, according to court documents.

Mevissen sees one patient at a time — two or three a day — five days a week at the couple's home, in the Tama neighborhood, 19739 Selby Ave. There are no signs advertising the business, no employees and no inventory, according to the documents. McInnes has a practice in Silver Spring.

The office has been open since September 2006 and provides eye exams, fits contact lenses and glasses, and provides pre-op and post-op treatment for Lasik surgery, Mevissen said in an interview.

In its decision, the board ruled that hours of operation should not exceed 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and that there should be no more than eight customers a day. They also instructed Mevissen to construct a paved parking/turn-around area.

"I think that this is over now," Mevissen said in an interview. "It's been agreed upon and approved by both boards."

The Barnes and Mevissen share a pipe stem driveway. The Barnes opposed the special exception because they said parking is inadequate and customers have backed into their yard, according to the board's opinion. They were also concerned about an increased amount of customers and whether the business would affect their home insurance rates.

"This is not a personal vendetta against Tom and Robin," Linda Barnes said at Monday night's Poolesville commissioners meeting. "We like them, they're good neighbors. We just don't want their business, that's all."

However, the board ruled that the business was consistent with town standards and that it would not be detrimental to the neighborhood, according to its opinion. The Barnes also said that the office violated the subdivision's covenants, though the board did not consider those regulations because it cannot enforce them, according to the documents.

The Barnes also alleged conflict of interest in an October letter to the board. Chairwoman Pilar Garrett and board member Ralph Hitchens both live in the Tama neighborhood, and Hitchens is a member of the community's Architectural Control Committee, according to the letter, which also outlined a number of alleged procedural issues.

Town Attorney Alan Wright said Monday that there did not appear to be a conflict of interest or procedural problems.