Lake Zurich denies third chance for U-Haul plan
Similar to a move in August, U-Haul representatives asked the Lake Zurich village board late Monday to reconsider its rejection of the company's plan for a building on Route 22.
However, U-Haul fell flat in the attempt to have a third chance to gain approval for its proposal for the northeast corner of Buesching Road and Route 22. Lake Zurich Village Attorney Scott Uhler said the rejection means U-Haul likely must wait two years to return with a proposal, per local ordinance.
Mayor Thomas Poynton tried to address the visibly perturbed U-Haul representatives as they left village hall.
"We get a clean bill here," Poynton said. "We're OK. We're not trying to put anyone through the gauntlet."
After emerging from a roughly 1½-hour closed-door session on another matter late Monday, the village board stuck by its 5-0 vote against granting a special-use permit and approval for an exterior appearance proposal after last-ditch presentations from an attorney and a U-Haul executive.
In trying to make her case for the board to reconsider its vote, U-Haul's marketing president for the northwest Chicago-area branch, Heather Skelton, said the company significantly altered the plan to meet village requirements since the second chance for approval was granted in August.
For example, she said, U-Haul planned to have rental trucks and trailers displayed outside toward the rear of the property instead of near Route 22, as originally proposed.
"It was mainly the parking and the moving the (outdoor) showroom to the side of the building, so the visibility wasn't to the street," Skelton said.
She added that members of the village's advisory planning and zoning commission last month recommended a special-use permit be issued so U-Haul could operate from the 88,000-square-foot building.
But trustees were unmoved by the last-minute effort from Skelton and lawyer Calvin Bernstein.
"I think you were haphazard in the beginning when you came to us the first time," Trustee Marc Spacone said. "We gave you the leniency to go back."
Trustee John Shaw said nothing changed his mind about U-Haul since he voted against the proposal in the summer.
"What's been presented to me (Monday), I'm still not comfortable with the project," Shaw said.
Lake Zurich village board members cited a lack of a specific site plan for the property when they initially rejected U-Haul's proposal in August. But later in the same meeting, a majority of trustees reconsidered the vote and agreed to give the company a second chance, a move Poynton said was unusual for village government.
U-Haul had planned to renovate the building and create a retail space inside. The site also would have included 1,200 self-storage units, and trucks and trailers available for rent.
Skelton declined to comment on the village board vote.