Northbrook trustees revisit proposed 7/11 at Waukegan and Shermer
Like a stingy defense, the Village of Northbrook board of trustees had bent on this issue, but on Dec. 8 it would not break.
The board returned to the case of an applicant, GW Northbrook 2 LLC, that has proposed to redevelop the property at 1103 Waukegan Road, at the southeast corner of Waukegan and Shermer roads.
GW is representing 7-Eleven, which would like to build a convenience store, gas station and car wash on the lot, currently the site of a Mobil station. This proposal has been floating around since February 2019.
The Village Plan Commission held three public hearings on it from August through October 2020. On Oct. 20 it granted special permits for variations on the location of a trash enclosure, open space and landscaping, loading space and, as the site is in a commercial-residential district, the pumping of gas itself.
The main contention, though, was its hours of operation. The applicant sought daily 24-hour operations while Planning - considering the wishes of residents wary of having a 24-hour business nearby - proposed to limit the hours from 6 a.m.-11 p.m. with the car wash running from 6 a.m.-8 p.m.
The board of trustees weighed in on that Oct. 27. It went so far as to side with the applicant on the hours, granting a special permit for the 7-Eleven to remain open all day, every day, though the car wash would be limited to 6 a.m.-8 p.m.
Veering from Plan Commission recommendation, trustee Kathryn Ciesla exclaimed on Dec. 8, was a true rarity.
There was a condition, however: After one year the board would review the situation to see if the 24-hour time frame was working out.
The board was prepared to address this at its Nov. 10 meeting, but GW properties requested more time to discuss things with 7-Eleven.
What came from those discussions, the Northbrook board deemed unacceptable.
The applicant requested a one-time review to be held 18 months after opening, and for "any restrictions upon review to be based upon verifiable relationship between nighttime operating hours and public nuisance," according to the ordinance on the floor Dec. 8.
"We want to remove some of the subjectivity of the stipulations of the ordinance. And we're looking to just create a framework where there has to be objective and somewhat identifiable metrics or standards for what would cause the ability to operate 24 hours to be revoked," said Jon Silverberg, GW Properties vice president.
The kicker was 7-Eleven requesting the board eliminate its ability to approve any transfer of the special permit to another owner.
That drew a retort. "I'm not interested in having 7-Eleven dictate to us how we handle our procedures here. So, it's a no," trustee Muriel Collison said.
Trustee Johannah Hebl agreed, but added a positive aside: "I know that we get some pushback that we're hard on businesses, but I'll tell you, once you get in the door we are a loyal group and we shop and support our businesses. So I do really hope 7-Eleven comes to Northbrook in this location."
A motion to pass the ordinance as presented failed 5-1. An additional motion for village attorney Steve Elrod to prepare an ordinance to approve the Plan Commission's verbiage was recommended 6-0.
The issue will return to the board at its next meeting, Jan. 12, 2021.