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Board recommends 2nd-floor hotel at 210 West Comanche and approves confectionery special use
Summary
The board recommended permitting a hotel/motel on the second floor of 210 West Comanche (excluding main-floor residential) and approved a special-use recommendation for a confectionery retail operation, while flagging parking and bathroom adequacy concerns.
The Shabbona Zoning Board separated multiple requests for 210 West Comanche and recommended a 2nd-floor hotel/motel while denying main-floor residential conversion; it also recommended a confectionery retail special use.
Applicant (presenter) described plans for a mixed-use renovation—retail on the main floor (including a gift/thrift store initially) and guest rooms upstairs—and argued that more visitors would support downtown businesses. The board noted the village ordinance definition of a bed-and-breakfast requires owner occupancy and limits of five guest rooms; the applicant acknowledged his plan (seven rooms in some sketches and the application) would align more with a hotel or motel than a classic B&B.
Board members and residents raised safety and operational questions: several speakers asked how many bathrooms would serve multiple rooms, whether deliveries could be made from the side alley, and how guests would be kept from occupying short-term parking needed by post-office patrons. The board ultimately voted to recommend approval of the hotel/motel use for the second floor only, and it carried a separate motion to recommend the confectionery special use; both motions passed by roll call.
