The proposal for a controversial new shopping mall in southwestern Lake County got a major boost this week when the county board approved zoning changes and other conditions that set the stage for its construction.
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Lake County Board members voted 23-0 to move the concept forward, saying the proposal represents a good compromise between private and public interests.
“We have never put this much effort before into finding that right balance,” said Board Member Bonnie Thompson Carter, who chairs the Planning, Building and Zoning Committee.
No one has applied to build anything specific, but the board’s vote allows for the property at Highway 12 and Old McHenry Road to be rezoned as commercial, grants a conditional use permit for a development, and accepts conditions of an intergovernmental agreement between the county and two neighboring communities. That agreement calls for sales tax revenue sharing and sets the parameters for development.
Residents of the area who attended Tuesday’s meeting did not share Thompson Carter’s view that the proposal represents a compromise. They contended that a shopping center the size of what is permitted would be out of character for the area and bring excessive traffic.
Nancy McGranahan, representing residents of a nearby subdivision, asked the board to consider “whether there really is an economic need for this.” She sees the project drawing business away from other shopping centers, or failing due to a glut of shopping options.
Harry MacCartney, representing the group Active Citizens for Responsible Expansion, or ARCE, said a development would be a “destination shopping center,” causing congestion because it will attract shoppers from across the region.
“The area-wide impacts have not been considered,” he said.
MacCartney said his group does not oppose development on the property, but wants it to suit the area. Although frustrated residents have packed meetings since the beginning of the year, the issue of development on the property dates to the 1990s, when the Dimucci family, which owns it, unsuccessfully pitched a larger project.
The current proposal is less specific than the previous one. Called a “planned unit development,” the proposal gives county officials more control over what is built. In such cases, the property owner initially lays out a concept and later finds a developer willing to build according to that vision.
The proposal approved by the County Board allows for up to 650,000 square feet of commercial and office space on the 109-acre site. It also calls for about half of the parcel to be preserved as open space.
The potential development’s size was reduced after county staff members and the mayors of neighboring Hawthorn Woods and North Barrington hashed out a different plan they felt would be more palatable to the people of those communities.
“From the very beginning, this was a difficult situation,” said Board Member Craig Taylor, adding that he initially shared some of the neighbors’ concerns.
But Taylor said the county worked hard to address those concerns, and for that reason he now supports the project.
Other board members noted the county would tackle issues like traffic when or if a developer proposes a specific project, and the new zoning would not take effect until the board approves the development. Officials have said that process could take years.
But angry neighbors aren’t waiting. ACRE members said in a press release that they are continuing to solicit money for a legal defense fund. They also said people should take their frustrations to the voting booth Nov. 6, when several County Board seats are contested.