Lake Zurich panel says hotel is a top priority for village

A Lake Zurich village committee overruled an earlier plan commission recommendation and voted to move forward with a hotel proposed for Rand Road.

The project, known as The Shops of Lakeview, calls for an 86-room Holiday Inn Express, an 8,000-square-foot restaurant with a drive-through, a Starbucks and a 7,500-square-foot retail building on roughly 5 acres off Route 12. The property at 195 S. Rand Road, adjacent to a vacant Kmart building, is the site of the former Frank's Nursery that went bankrupt.

Dozens of Lake Zurich residents made their case again Monday night for why the project should not be built next to residential neighborhoods.

Many of the concerns voiced by residents about the project Monday night during a village committee review were the same arguments made to the village plan commission a month ago. The commission recommended the project for denial at that June 28 meeting after hearing hours of testimony from more than 50 area residents opposed to the plan.

Residents maintain a hotel is not the right fit for the area.

"Lake Zurich needs to be more aware and selective in their choices of what is being brought into town," said Stephanie Halen, who lives at 154 S. Pleasant Road, directly behind the property to be developed. "Now that Deer Park is building a Hampton Inn, can Lake Zurich support a hotel in such proximity? The choice for this location in town needs to be more upscale and a good fit."

Residents were in favor of redevelopment of the site but objected to this particular proposal because, they said, no one wants to live near a hotel. They were concerned with the proposed three-story hotel's height, which is roughly 40 feet to the top of the roof, its setback from residential areas and not enough screening, about a possibly negative impact on home values and aesthetics, traffic generated and safety issues.

Resident Jeff Halen suggested the village change its codes and ordinances to protect homeowners better.

"For example, there is a larger setback requirement for the front of the Route 12 corridor, at 50 feet, than there is behind," he said. "Modifying this would help create better buffers for residents."

The developer had proposed a 12-foot fence as a screen between the proposed hotel that would be roughly 114 feet from the rear property line of the homes. The developer now proposes maintaining an existing 6-foot fence and planting cypress trees for screening.

"There certainly is no way to screen the hotel entirely," said Jennifer Mooney, a representative for Joseph Freed and Associates of Palatine. "They grow at a rate of approximately 8 foot per year. At maturity, they would be much taller than the hotel."

Mooney said the residential area setback is already three times what is required by village code, which is 35 feet.

Area business community members supported the idea of a hotel coming to town.

"The role of the chamber is to provide a vibrant community and a vibrant community requires growth, and let's face it. Growth is always controversial," said Ron Roberti, president of the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce. "Our community has attempted for over 15 years to bring a great quality hotel into town, and it appears we now have that opportunity. Right now, the vacant building and Kmart and Frank's certainly detract from the values of the homes in that area."

Roberti said the need for a hotel exists and asked village officials to weigh the positive economic impact of a hotel.

"Over 50 percent of the reason people travel in and out of Illinois is to visit friends and family and to attend special events," Roberti said.

Village board members continued to question the developer about residents' concerns through the night.

But the consensus seemed to be that a hotel was much needed in town.

"It is possibly the number one need of the village," said Trustee Steve Callahan, chairman of the planning and development committee.

The full board will have the final word on the hotel proposal in two weeks.