Long Grove childcare facility could affect Buffalo Grove subdivision
A husband and wife team is seeking approval to open an early childhood learning center on a Long Grove site that has sat vacant for about 20 years.
But residents in Buffalo Grove’s neighboring Crossings subdivision told members of Long Grove’s plan commission and zoning board of appeals Tuesday they worry the center will disrupt their way of life.
Kristi and Brendan Noonan plan to open Children’s Lighthouse at 0 Fremont Way, near where Fremont Way, Route 53/Hicks Road and Old McHenry Road meet.
Their plan calls for a more than 12,000-square-foot facility on a roughly 5-acre parcel. The center would operate from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, serving children from six weeks to 6 years old, along with enrichment programs for children up to 12 years old.
They expect up to 186 children and 30 staff members at peak capacity.
“We’re not developers,” Kristi Noonan told commissioners. “We’re just a husband and wife with two small kids and a dream to own a business.”
Noonan said they hope to be part of the Long Grove community, taking part in community events and partnering with local businesses. There has been talk of ice cream socials with Covered Bridge Creamery and field trips to the Sock Monkey Museum.
“No question, families come to the area because they value education,” she said. “We want to extend that educational journey to the earliest of years.”
Tuesday’s public hearing was attended mostly by Buffalo Grove residents worried about the impact on their neighborhood -- primarily traffic concerns along Fremont Way, a winding street that connects to Arlington Heights Road.
Traffic engineer Stephen Corcoran projected that roughly one parent car entering or exiting per minute during peak times, spread across a 2⅟₂-hour window each morning and afternoon. Traffic headed into the site will come mainly from the north, he said.
He noted his initial study was based on projections of 206 students and 40 staff members — about 10 percent more than the revised plan — and that the center's flexible drop-off model, with staggered drop-off times, differs from a traditional school.
But Darryl Stevens, a Crossings resident for 44 years, said traffic already is “horrible” for those trying to exit the subdivision to Route 53 in the morning.
“Now I understand there are staggered arrivals, with cars not all arriving at one time, but the one car that wants to go across (Route) 53 is going to cause a big problem for everybody,” he said.
Commissioner Archana Mohanchandra echoed those concerns, noting that a QuikTrip gas station also coming to the Route 53/83 intersection.
“This is a really important intersection, and we have a gas station coming,” she said. “Keep that in mind.”
The commission is expected to discuss the matter further on July 7.