Decision to come May 8 date on suit over Vernon Hills Menards
Construction equipment is parked on site, but the future of a planned Menards home improvement store on Milwaukee Avenue and Gregg's Parkway in Vernon Hills remains uncertain as legal action continues.
Lake County Associate Judge Luis A. Berrones on Friday set May 8 as his decision date on a motion to dismiss a suit asking the court to stop the company from developing the site.
"At least he didn't outright dismiss us saying we had no right (to pursue legal action) on any of the counts," said David Oppenheim, a Gregg's Landing resident and organizer of the Build Something Special Ltd., property owner group. He's also a plaintiff in the suit filed in October against Vernon Hills, Menards and Bradford Real Estate Services Corp.
"We're certainly hopeful and we'll have to decide what to do between now and May, whether we'll continue to collect funds," Oppenheim said.
Village Attorney Bob Kenny declined to comment.
Homeowners in the Gregg's Landing subdivision to the west oppose the plan for a two-story Menards store, lumber yard and garden center covering 286,986 square feet, saying their property would be aversely affected. Homeowners also contend the big box store does not adhere to covenants included in the Gregg's Landing approval in 1996.
Gregg's Landing included properties designated for commercial use north and south of Gregg's Parkway. The southern portion has developed with several uses, including a Mariano's grocery and Lowe's home improvement stores, but the northern part has been vacant. Homeowners claim the village violated its own rules by approving the site because warehouse and outside storage should not be allowed there. A Menards store is not compatible with the village's comprehensive plan and isn't the best use of the property, the suit contends.
Village officials last July approved the Menards plan with 44 conditions, noting the area has been zoned for commercial use since 1988. The decision followed nine months of give and take that included meetings with homeowners and changes to the layout of the buildings, landscaping and other features.
The village has argued residents were not parties to the covenants and have no legal standing to bring a suit on that basis. Claims by residents that village approval was arbitrary are unsupported, the village maintains.
In its motion to dismiss, the village also says that as a home rule municipality, it has authority to enact zoning ordinances that conflict with its standards and that the property does not violate any village ordinances or codes.
Menards was issued a site permit last fall and has graded the area and installed some underground sewers and related structures. The company has submitted for a full building permit, which covers foundations, the shell, parking lots and other elements, according to Mike Atkinson, village building commissioner.
He said the village has completed its initial review and is waiting for answers to questions that are typical of such projects.