Nothing major in board meeting episode, just a win-win
It was nothing earthshaking, just a way to help a village business and village residents.
In that way, it stood out.
At its Tuesday meeting the Northbrook Village Board engaged in a preliminary review of an application by Northshore Car Center for a permit to allow U-Haul truck rental and leasing.
The board sees this sort of thing all the time. Later on Tuesday it reviewed another business' request for signage. Based on prior experience with the applicant, the board did not take such a benevolent view of the request as it did in the case of Northshore Car Center.
"I think they are a good corporate citizen," trustee Kathryn Ciesla said when trustees provided their opinions after senior planner Swati Pandey completed her presentation.
One reason, she explained, is the auto repair and detailing service keeps its business clean. More importantly to the trustees, it responsibly followed procedure.
As Pandey related, the business had previously offered U-Haul trucks at its property on the 800 block of Techny Road. That drew a complaint to the village in December, since that was in violation of zoning for the area.
Northbrook Development & Planning deputy director Michaela Kohlstedt sent a letter to Northshore notifying the company it couldn't rent those trucks in its specific industrial district without a special permit. She gave the company until Jan. 15 to submit a preliminary review application.
What impressed the board was after that complaint, Northshore ceased its U-Haul operation. And, it returned its application on time.
What also helped the company's cause is that three board members said they'd had to go to Morton Grove to find a U-Haul facility - or, when there were no suitable vehicles for lease there, to Highland Park.
"I think it'd be a service that would benefit our residents to have something nearby," Ciesla said.
Trustee Bob Israel agreed: "This would be an absolute boon for us, I think."
This little chapter on Tuesday concluded with Village President Sandy Frum forwarding the case to the Plan Commission "with encouragement," she said.
Trustee Johannah Hebl said, "I think this is a great example of when government and businesses can work together, collaboratively."
Before the board of trustees meeting, the Northbrook Committee of the Whole met. The bulk of the brief meeting dealt with a review of amendments to the Municipal Code pertaining to boards and commissions.
One new facet will be the conversion of the Bicycle Task Force into a village board commission, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Commission. Its seven members, all village property owners, will serve four-year terms.
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Commission will annually approved the master bike and pedestrian plan, monitor legislation and trends, recommend positions on legislation and recognize activities that help make bicycling and walking safer in Northbrook.