Owner of vacant Barrington gas station could see fines reduced by nearly $50,000

A settlement is in the works between Barrington and the owner of a vacant gas station property who owes the village $62,250 for code violations.

The item was on the agenda of Monday's committee of the whole meeting, and the Barrington village board is expected to vote May 9 on the settlement, which would drastically reduce the fines to $15,000, to be paid over 60 days by Sandhu Decatur LLC, which owns the property at 1205 S. Northwest Highway.

Barrington Director of Development Services Marie Hansen said the gas station has not been in operation for at least three years. However, the property owner would like to reopen, and the settlement paves the way for that to happen.

The violations largely relate to the exterior of the property. Hansen said a number of items needed to be addressed, including painting and repairs to the canopy.

There also was an exposed old sign foundation, as well as a trash enclosure in need of repairs.

"In addition to that, at one point in time there was a business operation at the property without village approval," Hansen said.

After issuing 26 citations, the village held hearings in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and imposed fines of $42,250. Those fines remain unpaid, and an additional hearing was held in 2018 for eight more citations, resulting in $20,000 more in fines.

"Our ultimate goal, through our administrative adjudication process, is compliance," Hansen said.

There no longer appear to be code violations on the site, and the village is willing to work with the property owner toward a settlement agreement.

She said the owners have submitted a business registration that complies with the development regulations for the site, she added.

"This settlement agreement stipulates a payment plan structure, which would allow for that reopening," Hansen said.

"We're working to reduce it to an amount that generally covers the staff and legal time that's been associated with the violations."