Based mostly on Burr Ridge’s opposition, QuikTrip has withdrawn its proposal for a gas station in DuPage County — even though county leadership hadn’t finished its review procedure.
The proposed truck stop and gas station, as it was originally presented to village and DuPage County and Burr Ridge leaders, has been withdrawn by the corporation after intense community backlash in Burr Ridge against added commercial truck traffic, pedestrian safety and assorted quality of life issues.
The company had been working to develop a commercial truck refueling station at Kingery Highway and Route 83 in unincorporated DuPage County, just outside of Burr Ridge, but last week village trustees declined to accept a renewed proposal addressing earlier concerns.
The lack of support of Burr Ridge left QuickTrip developers with little choice but abandon the idea altogether and start again with a whole new proposal had they wanted to open a gas station. This is because the village can authorize to some extent what sort of developments may sit adjacent to Burr Ridge village limits.
A day after the village’s vote, Village Administrator Evan Walter announced developers bowed out, even before county leaders offered any final word on the project, though it seems some pushback was brewing at the county level.
“There were approximately 95 to 100 people present at the second hearing on Oct. 12,” said Paul Hoss, Planning and Zoning Administration Coordinator for DuPage County, in an email interview. The majority of those people were not present to protest the nascent development plan.
Even so, he said 16 people at that meeting objected to the petition on much the same grounds as residents did at the Burr Ridge meeting — e.g., more traffic and pedestrian safety.
However, Hoss added, the county had not yet finished gathering public input for or against the truck stop and the county itself was not yet in a position to approve or deny the proposal.
“As such, there was no recommendation or findings from the Zoning Board of Appeals or County Board Members,” Hoss said.
As for what will happen to the property now is unknown. However, the property is still open to commercial development — and to the same host of concerns residents just shared.
Besides the quality-of-life issues raised at the Burr Ridge meeting, residents there objected to a project they feared could lower property values by inviting noise and other disturbances — concerns that often accompany proposed commercial development.
As Hoss and others have pointed out however, any property that fits within the regulation of a commercial business district could still find a home at that location, pending village and county approval.
“The majority of the property along Route 83 is zoned in the B-2 General Business District,” he explained. “As such, any owner or developer is permitted to pursue developing commercial land uses on the property that are permitted in the B-2 Zoning District.”
In short, while the QuickTrip deal is over, it could be a matter of time before another commercial proposal draws local fire.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
