Despite some concerns by neighbors, the Burr Ridge board of trustees approved plans for a new, 24-hour Thorntons gas station at Monday’s board meeting. The station will be located at 9115 Kingery Highway.
More Top Picks Best Pilates Reformers With Tower
Marlene Kuypers and another neighbor, JoAnn Krypell, both addressed the board to oppose the gas station as they feared it would create noise, lights and other nuisance in the otherwise residential area.
Kuypers said she lives in a nearby Spectrum senior living facility and of the 50 people in her building, some 46 residents signed a petition who opposed the gas station.
That said, Thorntons has been angling to get into Burr Ridge since May, when the village’s planning commission first held hearings without much public input, let alone opposition, according to a village employee.
Janine Farrell, the Community Development Director, said at the outset Spectrum management has supported the project and, thus, so has the commission, though not necessarily for 24-hour operation.
Still, board members seemed untroubled by the requested hours, noting the town already has at least one 24-hour gas station with another probably on its way soon.
“I don’t know why we’re voting against a Thorntons that’s 24 hours,” said Trustee Russ Smith, before the vote.
Trustee Tony Sciappa said he didn’t like the idea of liquor sales at the gas station, but then Administrator Evan Walter pointed out the gas station hasn’t petitioned the town for liquor sales so they can’t sell liquor anyway — they’re limited to beer and wine.
Meanwhile, Phil Bolduc, a real estate manager at Thorntons, said the company is amenable to managing landscaping and other design features to eliminate or reduce light and noise pollution. At present, the company plans to include line of evergreen trees around the station to buffer lights from shining on neighboring homes.
Trustee Guy Franzese, who also served as mayor pro tempore on Monday, said the existing Shell station nearby and the McDonald’s are both relatively clean though he noted the Speedway isn’t all that clean.
But, he said, “It’s not in Burr Ridge anyway, so we can’t enforce it. But it’s a mess.”
Still, Krypell noted she had concerns about light pollution from the store itself, noting how the lights above the gas pumps could be visible to residents.
Franzese said the town already prohibits light pollution and he also worried about an increase in crime.
“The proximity to the apartment complex is the main security concern,” he said, noting that there’s at present no there’s no barrier to keep anyone out of the Spectrum property.
“We know the Spectrum residents were not informed by corporate and allowed to make objections,” he said. “They are Burr Ridge residents too, and should be allowed to make a decision.”
Kuypers agreed. She said she was never aware of any proposals. “Spectrum has never contacted any of us and if they say then I’m curious who they contacted,” she explained. Kuypers said residents thought the spot would be developed into an Aldo.
“I try to go to all the resident meetings,” she said. “Out of the 50 people I talked to 46 said they opposed it.”
However, Bolduc said there would typically be three to four clerks on site at any time to monitor the property. He also said the company would be happy to add extra trees to mitigate any light issues.
In the end, the board approved the project unanimously, while the police chief said most of the issues could be solved by tickets to drivers for noise or light or parking violations.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
More Top Picks Instant Pot Duo Nova