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Board backs restoration of former Saint Mary's school as eight-room small inn, with conditions
Summary
The Galena Zoning Board of Appeals voted Dec. 10 to forward a positive finding to City Council for a proposed eight-room small inn at 401 Elk Street, conditioned on the applicant obtaining a city parking license; the board also approved a variance to permit innkeeper rather than owner occupancy. Neighbors raised repeated concerns about parking, traffic and drainage.
The Galena Zoning Board of Appeals voted Dec. 10 to forward a positive finding to City Council for a proposal to convert the former Saint Mary's school at 401 Elk Street into an eight-room small inn, and separately approved a variance allowing the inn to be innkeeper-occupied rather than owner-occupied.
Applicant presentations described an 8-room inn using the existing school shell, an associated rectory and an adjacent 201 High Street lot the developer said it purchased for additional parking or support. The applicant outlined plans for ADA access, a proposed 11-space parking plan (including one ADA space), installation of EV chargers and a stormwater/drainage plan the team said it would finalize with city engineering. The design team said it would pursue state historic tax credits and that extensive masonry and structural repairs are needed.
Neighbors and speakers raised multiple objections during the public hearing. Dave Hanson (350 Franklin) said the submitted drawings lack important interior and occupancy details and questioned whether parking and circulation had been fully addressed: "Where are they gonna park?" he asked. Dave Alden (320 Elk Street) described the building as an ongoing public nuisance and warned the project "will destroy this neighborhood absolutely and completely," citing additional lights, pavement and traffic. Rick Terrace (113 South High Street) said his block already contains many transient bedrooms and urged a traffic study before approval.
The applicant and design team responded that they would work with city staff on stormwater engineering and on the design and construction of parking and that, if street access and acceptable conditions could not be achieved, they would not pursue the project. "We will not pursue this project if we can't get that street open in some way," the applicant stated when asked about High Street access and functionality.
Board members debated the limits of the zoning board's authority (site-plan compatibility and parking requirements) versus city-street engineering (paving High Street, egress and traffic). To address the neighbors' concerns while preserving the project's historic-restoration objective, the board amended a motion to forward a positive finding to City Council conditioned on the applicant securing a parking license from the city for use of adjacent public property. The amendment passed on roll call, and the board then approved the amended motion to forward a positive finding.
Separately, the board approved variance 25D-10 to permit the small inn to be innkeeper-occupied rather than owner-occupied; applicant Paul Wojewski told the board he and his wife plan to move nearby and hire staff to manage the property rather than live at 401 full time.
What happens next: the City Council will consider the board’s positive finding and the parking-license contingency; the applicant will need to finalize stormwater engineering, secure any required city licenses or lease agreements for additional parking, and comply with historic-preservation permit requirements before construction permits are issued.
