Dance academy proposal surfaces in Lake Zurich

Plans for a dance academy to relocate to a Lake Zurich industrial park near Route 22 will go through the village's official approval process.

Michael Schroeder, owner of PS Holdings LLC, said the idea is for Center Academy of Dance to move from Deer Park Town Center space to his Oakwood Road building. Schroeder said the academy wouldn't pose safety problems for traffic in the industrial park because its clients mostly would be there after other businesses are closed.

"It's a mixture of dance classes as well as fitness. ... It's primarily students, so it's basically people driving over, dropping their student off," Schroeder told the Lake Zurich village board. "Typically, those are hours after about 4 o'clock. They go into evening and then they have some dance instruction on weekends as well. It's kind of a good mix with what's in the industrial area now."

Schroeder brought his idea for the dance academy before Lake Zurich's elected officials Monday night for an informal courtesy review. Village trustees raised concerns about the proposal for Oakwood North north of Route 22, but agreed it deserved to enter the formal approval process starting with the advisory planning and zoning commission. Commission members would issue a recommendation on the proposal to the village board, which gets the final say on issues.

Schroeder said the village's fees may become a sticking point for the dance academy, which wants to reduce its rent expenses. He said Lake Zurich's $875 application fee and another $4,000 for potential legal and consulting costs before the commission appearance may be too costly.

However, Trustee Marc Spacone questioned why the village would consider fee reductions and granting the special use permit for the academy without any potential financial benefits for taxpayers. He said while the village wants to be business-friendly, a deal must be good for both sides.

"Is there even any tax revenue that would come into the village as a result of this kind of business?" Spacone said. "There's none. So, we're being asked to go over and do these kinds of things, but yet there's nothing that comes back to the village."

Trustee Jonathan Sprawka countered that officials need to look beyond the dance academy for potential benefits.

"I'd make the argument that while the site itself may not generate sales tax revenue, there are a number of retail businesses within the nearby vicinity that I can tell you that parents dropping off their kids will frequent," Sprawka said.

P.S. Holdings needs the special use permit because the building that would be occupied by Center Academy of Dance is within an industrial zoning district. In 2014, the village board revised the industrial district regulations to effectively prohibit a dance facility.