Accompanied by the cheers of hundreds of residents, trustees have voted unanimously to shut off the engine on a proposal to build a pair of auto dealerships at Ogden Avenue and Oakwood Drive.
The proposal would have allowed auto dealer Bob Rohrman to build two dealerships on 8.8 acres at the intersection’s northwest corner. But the project was rejected Monday after trustees said the split lot sought in the plan posed water-retention problems and made it almost impossible to develop 13.2 acres behind the proposed site. The plan also would have opened the door for others who wanted unusual variances, trustees said.
For the more than 500 residents who live near the site in the Oakwood subdivision and the Americana Health Center, the victory was a moral one. Residents several years ago kept a dealership off the property and swore to fight twice as hard to keep two other dealerships off the same site.
Rohrman and Naperville developer Ronald Coppolino had proposed to landscape the parcel and said the proposed dealership would produce nearly $380,000 in annual sales tax revenue and funnel millions into the village and schools through property taxes. But most area residents adamantly opposed its placement at Oakwood and Ogden.
Residents said they worried about increased traffic, decreased safety and property values, and the noise and light pollution the dealership would add to their area.
“We’re not opposed to the proper development of this land, but this plan isn’t it,” said George Prescott, president of the Oakwood Homeowners Association.
Coppolino denied that property values would decrease because of the dealership, saying the homes’ proximity to Ogden Avenue had decreased their value. He also said the removal of wild animals from the brush-covered parcel would benefit residents.
But those arguments, and support by public figures suchas former Mayor Frank Bellerive, weren’t enough to sway trustees.
Rohrman, who owns 22 dealerships in Indiana and 7 in Illinois, said he would continue to search for a new location for his Toyota of Westmont store, currently at 276 Ogden Ave.