City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to allow the big top to come to Presbyterian Homes & Family Services.
Some residents of the surrounding Peakland neighborhood expressed objections to the request from Presbyterian Homes and Cole Bros. Circus during a public hearing, citing concerns including traffic hazards and inconsistency with the residential area.
Others spoke in favor of the visit, saying they felt the benefits and joy a circus offered outweighed the inconvenience that would be incurred. Council members ultimately agreed with that argument, but wrote in language to the circus permit that would not allow it to come back to Presbyterian Homes next year without another vote of council. Officials also strongly encouraged the circus to consider holding its next show in downtown.
The permit was approved 6-0. Mayor Joan Foster abstained because she had a conflict of interest. Her employer, the nonprofit Family Alliance, has a partnership with Presbyterian Homes.
Cole Bros. Circus has been visiting Lynchburg for more than six decades. It will be here on the Presbyterian Homes campus off VES Road on April 26 and 27.
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