HomeMy WebLinkAbout20250563 55 Union Ave Special Use Permit Revised Narrative 09222025Special Use Permit – 55 Union Avenue
Hotel – 20 or less guestrooms
Purpose of the request:
To bring the property known as The Union Gables Inn into compliance with
current City of Saratoga Springs regulations that were recently updated in 2023.
We are not adding additional rooms to the Inn or changing the property in any
way, but rather attempting to bring the present business practices of the property
in line with current regulations. The Union Gables Inn has been operating since
the early 1990’s. According to a Special Use Permit dated October 2, 1991, the
Inn is allowed to have 10 guestrooms in the main house but has been operating
for the last 20+ years with 11 rooms in the main house and 2 guest rooms within
the carriage house. Compliance under the latest regulations requires
reclassification to Hotel – 20 or less guestrooms.
We would like to point out that we were unaware prior to purchasing the
property in May of 2025 that previous ownership(s) had been in non-compliance
with the City’s regulations for decades and are only seeking to legally conform
through this Special Use request. Our business plan submitted to the mortgage
company included the proposed income from the additional rooms and the loss of
that income would create a significant financial hardship.
We presently serve breakfast to our Inn guests on a daily basis and have added a
weekend Supper Club dining experience (reservation only, maximum 18 guests)
We are presently operating the Supper Club under the Special Use Permits
granted on February 1, 1995 and July 28, 1999, which allows for only 24 events
per year. We would like to expand the number of nights we offer the Supper
Club. A Hotel – 20 or less guestrooms would allow this.
It is our understanding that the Hotel designation would require 1.5 parking
spaces/guestroom. Presently, our parking lot accommodates 14 vehicles. 55
Union Avenue is a corner lot with 175’ of parking spaces on the Union Avenue
side, 193’ on the Court Street side and 123’ on the George Street side. We
respectfully request that those designated parking areas be included to bring us
the additional 6 spaces needed to comply.
In closing, we would like to reiterate once again, that as new owners of the Union
Gables Inn, we are not planning on altering the building or property, we are just
trying to adhere to the regulations in place at this time and continue operating
the business as it has been operating for decades.