Long Grove approves early childhood center, setting up showdown with Buffalo Grove

Long Grove trustees gave the Children’s Lighthouse early childhood learning center the green light Tuesday. The question now is whether neighboring Buffalo Grove will stop it from moving forward.

The planned facility at Fremont Way and Route 53 needs Buffalo Grove’s approval to access village roads leading to the property.

Buffalo Grove Village President Eric Smith said Tuesday that no application for road access has been filed. Buffalo Grove officials will do what’s best for village residents, he added.

“Long Grove can approve everything they want. It doesn’t matter,” Smith said. “They need access to it. They need to get that from us.”

Kristi and Brendan Noonan plan to open a 12,000-square-foot early childhood center on a roughly 5-acre parcel. The center would serve children from 6 weeks to 6 years old, and offer additional enrichment programs for children up to 12 years old.

Residents of The Crossings, a Buffalo Grove subdivision adjacent to the site, have raised objections to the plan. Among their concerns is traffic, especially at the heavily congested area around the Fremont/Route 53/Old McHenry Road intersection, which also is near the routes 53/83 intersection.

“Parents who have dropped off their children and are rushing off to work will not wait for the traffic to clear,” Crossings resident Steven Katz said. “Rather, they will look for alternatives, and the only alternative is to cut through our subdivision just as children are flooding our streets to catch the bus to school.”

Kristi Noonan said she wants to work with the land’s neighbors to make sure their facility is safe for the community.

“We are not some big developer just coming in to make some money on a property and destroy the thing,” she said. “We are a family looking to build a family business and be part of the community and add value to our neighbors.”

Long Grove Trustee Rita O’Connor, one of two trustees who voted against the proposal, said it is not compatible with the surrounding residential area.

“The traffic is a nightmare now, and it’s going to get worse,” she said.

But Trustee David Gayton, one of four yes votes, said the Noonans spent much time and effort and have done everything they were asked.

szalusky@dailyherald.com