Glenview board again tables Willows Crossing decision
Nearly two hours into the Glenview village board's most recent discussion on the proposed commercial development at Willow and Pfingsten roads, Trustee Jim Bland stated what no one wanted to hear.
"Because we cannot find a resolution as part of a public process, we are now going to be at the point where we will be putting our fate in the hands of a circuit court judge," he said Nov. 15, terming it "a bad day for Glenview."
An agreement with developers could change that, but the board tabled further discussions on the five-building Willows Crossing Shopping Center until Dec. 6.
Property owner GW Properties is asking the village to rezone the 8-acre site, on the southwest corner of Willow and Pfingsten, from residential to business and approve the site plan.
The development has long been fought by neighbors.
Following the board's May 2021 denial of a previous plan and rezoning request, GW Properties filed suit against the village. That lawsuit has been stayed while the village considers the current revised request.
The decision to table the matter for the second time in a month followed more than two hours of back-and-forth between Glenview trustees, GW Properties Principal Mitch Goltz and his attorney Hal Francke.
Trustees are looking for an updated site plan, which would be the seventh for the plot dating back more than two years.
"What I don't want to do," Village President Mike Jenny said, "is keep having sort of a 'Groundhog Day.'"
Among changes in the plan reviewed Nov. 15 were more open space, increasing a berm on the south from 7.1 feet to 10 feet and a "look-back" provision aimed at addressing access issues, and trustees' main sticking point - a left-hand turn out of the center onto Pfingsten Road.
Trustees say traffic at the intersection, including cars leaving the Plaza Del Prado mall across from the Willows Crossing access on Pfingsten, would make left turns there too dangerous.
Francke said a "look-back" provision would create a review period on access, after which the village could restrict left turns during peak traffic hours.
"A look-back really gives the village a protection that if it does become an issue mechanisms are put into place that it can be modified," Goltz said.
Trustee Gina DeBoni noted she was "immovable" on not allowing left-hand turns onto Pfingsten.
"For me, that falls short. I'm not willing to wait for a tragedy to happen to then determine it's a problem," she said.
On Oct. 18, Trustee Tim Doron, a veteran Glenview planner with a background in transportation, had broached the idea of restricting left-hand turns during peak hours. He also sympathized with the neighbors "who have gone through two years of this," he said Nov. 15.
"I want to make sure they're made whole and they're protected," Doron said. "In my opinion, now it boils down to access."