Parking next to former church approved

The purchase and transformation to a private residence of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lake Church is making an impact beyond the building itself.

Dave Maiman, owner of Lake Church Inn across Highway D from the former church, has voiced concerns over how parking for his business would be affected, especially during busy Friday night fish fries that used to have customers parking in the church’s lot and along the street without anyone objecting.

Angle parking spots along Highway D next to the former church east and west of its driveway stretch onto its property, and Maiman asked the Ozaukee County Public Works Committee to maintain that format rather than switch parallel parking.

That’s not an issue with the former church’s owner, Dan Majewski, who renovated and is selling the church as a residence.

County Highway Commissioner Jon Edgren said Majewski initially asked why public parking stalls along Highway D extended four feet onto his property, then agreed to donate the four feet of right-of-way to the county.

“We don’t get to extend parking onto someone’s property,” Edgren said. “That’s why we need the public right-of-way dedication.”

Edgren, however, doesn’t support allowing angled parking along Highway D, citing safety concerns.

The County Public Works Committee discussed the issue last month after tabling it in June.

Maiman, who has owned the restaurant with his wife for the last 19 years, outlined his case for angle parking in a letter he sent the county in June. Among his 11 points are the low traffic count on the road, the 25 mph speed limit, the fact that it has had angle parking for more than 50 years with no accidents, that parallel parking is more difficult for senior citizens and that Majewski doesn’t object to angle parking.

Maiman cited that the town last year agreed to allow all-terrain and utility terrain vehicles on Highway D east to Lake Church Road, the corner at which the former church and Lake Church Inn are located, meaning they “must feel that the road is safe enough for people as young as 16 years old with no driver’s license to be on the road in a small open vehicle at speeds of up to 25 mph,” he wrote.

Parallel parking, Maiman said, would reduce the number of spaces from 17 to seven.

“As a small business, especially in our industry, it has been difficult to remain profitable the past few years. Changing the parking for no good reason at this time would put us at a further disadvantage,” Maiman wrote in his letter.

While Edgren recommended against allowing angle parking, if the proposal went through he suggested acquiring seven feet of right-of-way instead of four. That, he said, leaves a wider shoulder for foot and bike traffic along the side of the road.

The Public Works Committee voted, 3-2, to allow angle parking as long as the county acquires four feet of right-of-way from Majewski and if the Town of Belgium accepts maintenance responsibilities for that portion of the road.

Committee members Marty Wolf, Tom Grabow and Michelle Godden voted for it. Thomas Richart and Justin Strom voted against.

A proposal to include four more angle parking spaces west of the former church’s driveway failed when it did not receive a second.

The Town Board last week agreed to allow angle parking east of the former church’s driveway but not allow any parking west of the driveway. That was approved, 2-1, with Chairman Tom Winker and Supr. Bill Janeshek voting for it and Supr. Tom Bichler voting against.

“I think that’s a very bad idea to have angled parking on a county road,” Bichler said.

“The only concern I have is the safety issue,” Winker said.

The town agreed to have the county pave and stripe the strip of land for parking, then hand the bill to Maiman.

“We said that’s not a problem,” Maiman said.

Janeshek said he would like the strip to be paved right away so the town doesn’t have to handle maintenance issues on the existing asphalt.

Edgren said this is a unique case.

“It’s goofy being a town because those typically don’t have downtowns with a side parking lot,” he said.

Ozaukee County remains responsible for maintaining the rest of Highway D.