Driver's license facility clears first hurdle in Lake Zurich
A Lake Zurich advisory panel has given a thumbs-up to proposal for a state driver's license facility in a Rand Road mall.
Under the plan, the Illinois secretary of state's operation would move from its nearly 30-year home at Brookside Shopping Center in Libertyville to Deerpath Commons in Lake Zurich.
Wednesday night, the Lake Zurich planning and zoning commission voted 7-0 in favor of recommending a special-use permit the driver's license facility needs to operate at Deerpath Commons. The advisory panel's recommendation is scheduled for a formal vote July 5 by the village board, which has the final say.
Planning and zoning commission members agreed Lake Zurich police should approve any road test routes sought by the secretary of state's office as condition of the special-use permit,
John Alan Sfire, whose Fidelity Group Ltd. owns Deerpath Commons, gave a presentation to the planning and zoning commission during a public hearing portion of Wednesday's session. No one spoke against the proposal.
“If John is going to go into business with the state of Illinois and expects to get paid, I say kudos to him,” planning and zoning commission member Antonio Castillo said.
Stephen Martin, whose family owns the Brookside Shopping Center, has said the state owes $46,100 in unpaid rent this year. The facility has been at the strip mall since 1987.
Under the proposal for Deerpath Commons, the secretary of state would fill a 9,638-square-foot space adjacent to House of Hope Resale. Commercial licenses for truck drivers would not be handled at the facility.
“We've met with (secretary of state officials) on a number of occasions — as recently as last week with eight of the department heads and their architects — and we're in the process of finalizing a plan for them as we speak,” Sfire said.
Addressing noise concerns about a motorcycle testing area that would be apart from the main mall, Sfire said testing typically is done at low speed. He said there usually are no more than four motorcycle tests per week, with hours running only from April to September.