Company abandons plans for gas station near Lombard

A company has abandoned plans to build a gas station, convenience store and car wash near Lombard.

DuPage County officials on Thursday said Buck's Inc. has withdrawn its petition to build the business on the south side of Roosevelt Road, between Wisconsin and Addison avenues.

The county's zoning board of appeals was slated to resume a public hearing next week on the request.

Instead, a representative from Buck's Inc. this week hand delivered a letter informing the panel of the withdrawal. The matter is closed, officials said.

While the letter gave no reason for why the company withdrew its petition, the decision came as a group of neighbors was preparing to oppose the project.

The neighbors - concerned about noise, traffic, air quality and other issues - even started a website, Facebook page and an email newsletter to persuade county officials to reject the plan.

Under the proposal, Buck's Inc. wanted to purchase the building containing the House of Rattan furniture store at 18W375 Roosevelt along with a right-of-way and several residential lots south of the store. One of the residential lots has an abandoned house while the others are vacant, officials said.

The company then wanted to clear the parcels and merge them to build a station with 10 gas pumps, a 7,185-square-foot Bucky's Express convenience store, and a 2,315-square-foot car wash. A detention pond and fence also were planned for the far southern part of the combined site.

Residents, however, say the project would have disrupted and potentially harmed their neighborhood.

On Thursday, resident David Jackson called the withdrawal of the petition "an important win for all the homeowners who chose to stand up and fight for what is right for their families and for the area."