Since August, when Jennifer Sharrett opened up Mi Casita Montessori in one of the historic homes that line Shasta, neighbors have become increasingly concerned about the potential problems posed by a business in their quiet residential community—declining property values, increased traffic and noise.

Having made a united effort to contact the city's planning and code enforcement departments about the school and to make their position known to Sharrett, residents say they've just been trying to protect their quality of life.

Sharrett, on the other hand, believes she's been harassed.

"It's gotten out of control," she said. "I knew that the neighbors had concerns, that they were upset, but now it's just bullying."

When Sharrett rented out the house late this summer and began accepting students, it was a month before she realized she would need a conditional-use permit from the city to operate her business. She approached the city's planning department and acquired the necessary paperwork, but by then residents had called code enforcement to check out the business they say had appeared out of nowhere in their midst.

Sharrett, who had been commuting out to Shasta Avenue three days a week to operate the school, was presented with two options from the city: She could move into the house and convert it into a home-based day care, which doesn't require the conditional-use permit, or she could continue to use the house exclusively for the school and obtain the permit, a time-consuming and costly process that would involve holding public meetings with the neighbors.

Sharrett hosted an open forum for the neighbors in late September before deciding what to do. While many of those who attended say it was a civil discussion, when Sharrett decided a few days later to convert the school to a home-based day care while she looked for another property for the business, she learned that the feelings ran deeper than she had thought.

As she and her family moved into the house on a sunny fall weekend, several residents drove by in cars yelling at her, she said. An elderly couple "accosted" Sharrett's mother as she climbed out of her car with a child in her arms, Sharrett reported to police that weekend.

About a week later, red-and-white signs began appearing on front lawns along Shasta Avenue between Park and W. San Carlos. "No Montessori school business at 1506 Shasta Ave.," they read. "Keep Shasta residential." Soon nearly every other house on the block had one; some even had two.

"We thought the signs were one way to show some kind of solidarity," explained Paul Chummers, one of the dozens of residents who paid $10 for a front-yard sign. "We're just concerned about keeping Shasta residential. We understand there's a need for day care—it just ought to be in the right setting."

The signs came down last week as word spread that Sharrett was planning to relocate her business.

"If that's what's happening, then we don't feel it's necessary to keep the signs up," said Shasta Avenue resident Yolanda Reynolds.

"A lot of people got educated and made their opinions known," said Chummers of the two-month effort. "I think that's good."

While the school will be moving on as soon as Sharrett finds another property, she said, she doesn't intend to live anywhere but Shasta Avenue, no matter what her history is with the neighbors.

"I'm not going to be bullied away," she said.