The Glenview Board of Trustees discussed Tuesday a proposal to build a day care center near the recently approved Active Living Apartments and voted against a traffic recommendation made by the Plan Commission.
Kiddie Academy, located at 662 Waukegan Road, would be built in place of an existing vacant commercial building and three existing houses, according to a staff report. The applicant and village staff have been working on the site plan for more than 16 months, and the project was dependent on the approval of the Active Living Apartments so that the developers could enter into an agreement for traffic access to the day care through the Active Living Apartments property, said Jeff Rogers, planning manager.
The board approved two ordinances to allow the project to move forward. One ordinance addresses traffic, and the Plan Commission recommended that trustees approve full access for northbound and southbound traffic from Waukegan Road onto the property, according to the report.
In a 4-2 vote, the board approved an amendment to that section of the ordinance to prohibit left turns from northbound Waukegan Road onto the property but to still allow for left turns from southbound Waukegan Road, Rogers said. The amendment would allow drivers a right turn only onto Waukegan Road to leave the property, he said.
President Jim Patterson voted in favor of the amendment. Patterson had to vote because Trustee Michael Jenny was absent and resolutions need four or more votes to pass.
In making its recommendation, the Plan Commission evaluated nine access points from Waukegan Road onto the property, Rogers said. The commission asked the Illinois Department of Transportation to review the options, and IDOT recommended an option to allow full access for northbound and southbound traffic, which the commission recommended to the board, he said.
Trustee Deborah Karton recommended making the amendment to the traffic access because drivers can drive through the Active Living Apartments property to get to the day care. Resident concerns about traffic and safety made at Plan Commission meetings also impacted her decision, she said.
The Plan Commission and other village boards are appointed to apply village standards to each proposal, but the trustees have to balance the standards with the needs of residents, Karton said.
“Nobody is restricting access. There’s always a way to get into this day care center,” Karton said. “What we’re saying is ‘we hear you’ to the residents, and we’re going to make their lives a little bit easier getting out of the property.”
Trustee Scott Britton and Trustee Philip White both voted against the amendment because they both said the board should follow the recommendation by the Plan Commission.
“I would go with the Plan Commission and I would go with IDOT and the traffic management. That’s their job, and they spent a hell of a lot more hours on it then we’re going to spend,” White said.
The property’s owner Valdir Barion said the project may not be viable given the traffic access the board approved. Village staff believe that either traffic access option will still allow the day care to operate, but staff will work with the owner to better understand his concerns, Rogers said.
Ultimately, the project needs approval from the board and IDOT, Rogers said. Village staff is in contact with IDOT to find out which option the department would support, Rogers said, adding that the traffic option the board approved is more restrictive than the Plan Commission recommendation.
“IDOT gave preliminary input. They identified the least restrictive option it would support. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t support a more restrictive option,” Rogers said.
As part of the project proposal, the trustees also instructed staff to move forward with a purchase and sale agreement of Harmony Lane. The owner needs to purchase the village-owned property and section of alley right-of-way to make room for the width of the proposed day care floor plan, Rogers said.
The board will discuss the ordinances again at the May 1 meeting.
akukulka@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @AKukulka11
