Mount Prospect neighborhood gears up for Walgreens fight

Pam Mueller has gained a whole new vocabulary in just the past few days - not that she's proud of it.

"I know more about buffer zones now than I would ever care to admit," she said. "But what am I supposed to do? This plan is going to greatly affect my neighborhood."

On Aug. 8, Mueller and several of her Mount Prospect neighbors received a letter from The Faigus Group notifying them of a proposed Walgreens at the northwest corner of Golf and Elmhurst Roads. The plan would tear down the home next door to Mueller, who lives in the 900 block of I-Oka Drive, "putting the pharmacy's drive-through window right under my children's bedroom," she said.

Faigus Group is holding a meeting 6 p.m. Thursday at the Mount Prospect Public Library, 10 S. Emerson St., to present the plan to the community. It hasn't yet filed it with the village.

"Our goal is to stop them from filing the plan," Mueller said. "We want to mount a campaign to show them we're serious. We won't back down. They can't win this."

Eugene M. Faigus, president of The Faigus Group, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Mueller, afraid many of her neighbors figured the developer's letter was junk mail and threw it out before reading, has started an e-mail campaign with some of her other neighbors to spread the word about the plan.

"The residents of the 900 block of I-Oka are concerned that this proposal will create noise, pollution, lighting and traffic problems for us, while also devaluing our property," according to Mueller's e-mail. "It could set a dangerous precedent for more commercial development to take place in their residential neighborhoods."

To build the proposed Walgreens, Faigus Group would need approval from the village to rezone the area. It also wants to demolish the Prudential Starck Realtors office building and two homes nearby, according to Mueller.

Faigus Group, of Highland Park, also is proposing to build a cul-de-sac in the middle of the 900 block of I-Oka, she said.

"I can see why Walgreens wants to build there; it's a hugely busy corner," she said. "But to push commercial development that deep into a residential area doesn't made sense."

Brian Simmons, Mount Prospect's Deputy Director of Community Planning, said if Faigus Group submits its proposal to the village, it will go before the village's planning commission for review before coming to the full village board.

Mueller said she will be at Thursday's meeting with many of her neighbors.

"This thing has taken on a life of its own, so I'm not sure how many people will be there," she said. "It could be 50 people; it could be 200."

<center><img src="/graphics/mpwalgreens.jpg"></center>  <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related documents</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="/pdf/mpwalgreens.pdf">Letter and schematic drawing submitted to village </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>