Gurnee-based Anthony Buick GMC is one step closer to moving to a new location in the village after the Village Board Monday approved two ordinances allowing for a design permit and variance.
The dealership initially struck a deal with the village at the board’s Dec. 21 meeting which provided the business with a sales tax rebate of up to $1.5 million in exchange for an agreement to stay in Gurnee for at least 10 years.
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Under this deal, Gurnee will retain the first $300,000 of the village’s portion of the sales tax revenue generated by the dealership each year, and Anthony Buick GMC will retain the rest, up to $1.5 million, or over five years, whichever comes first.
Anthony Buick GMC will move from 7225 Grand Ave. to a 10-acre vacant area at 5589 Northridge Drive.
After receiving the approval in December, the dealership still had to meet with Gurnee’s Planning and Zoning Board in January to go over the final two ordinances.
The board unanimously approved both at the meeting. The first ordinance issued a special-use permit that refers to landscaping and building material, according to Village Administrator Patrick Muetz. The second ordinance granted a variance to the village’s zoning laws related to on-site lighting.
Muertz said that the Planning and Zoning Board recommended that the Village Board approve both ordinances.
Trustee Karen Thorstenson had questions about the duration that the lights would be on at the business after it closed for the day. She said there are concerns from residents that the duration that lights on are at car dealerships is “lengthy,” beyond when the store is open for business.
Jerry Mortier, an architect and the project engineer with the Redmond Group, said that the lighting is controlled with a control panel and they are set on an automatic timer, but the timer can be adjusted if everyone from the business has left the building.
“There are overrides that are provided, and it’s pretty simple to do a quick override of the lighting control,” Mortier said.
Thorstenson also questioned residents’ ability to issue complaints about an existing fence that separates the commercial properties in the area from the residential neighborhood. During a Dec. 2 Planning and Zoning Board meeting, the board received complaints from residents about how the six-foot fence that sits on top of a berm is deteriorating in some parts.
“I’m bringing this to light because the residents to the south of the property are concerned because it’s going from vacant land to being built out,” Thorstenson said, “While they’re going through an adjustment period of learning how to live with a new neighbor, it seems like it would be a great time for the business association to upgrade the entire fence.”
David Zigler, Gurnee’s Director of Community Development, said that the village would develop a process for residents to be able to issue complaints about the fence, if they had any.
“Most of our code enforcement is reactive,” Zigler said about the village’s response to any issues that local residents may encounter once the dealership is moved.
In the month since first getting the tax rebate approved, and getting the two new ordinances passed, Anthony Buick GMC redesigned their plan for the new dealership slightly and planted an additional 19 evergreen trees, in addition to the trees that were in the initial design plan, along its southern property line. They are designed to help block the dealership from its residential neighbors, cutting down on the light and noise from the business.
Erin Yarnall is a freelance reporter.