The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) will continue public comment on rezoning of the Dimucci property at Rte. 12 and Old McHenry Road, tonight. The hearing will be held at 5 p.m., at Concorde Banquets, 20922 N. Rand Road, Kildeer.
The ZBA has yet to complete public comment and the objectors’ and petitioner’s closing statements, according to Eric Waggoner, director of Lake County Planning Department. Once those are completed, the ZBA will discuss possible conditions of approval, deliberate and ultimately vote on the proposal. Given those remaining steps, it is more likely that the ZBA won’t be voting until Thursday, Waggoner said.
The Zoning Board of Appeals hearings are for rezoning the 109-acre site from residential to general commercial and a Planned Unit Development on the site. While the neighboring villages of North Barrington and Hawthorn Woods have negotiated an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the County regarding the site, residents neighboring the Dimucci site remain adamantly opposed.
The primary objecting organizations are ACRE (Active Citizens for Responsible Expansion) and Protect Lakewood.
According to an ACRE news release, the organization is arguing that:
- Such a large development complex is not compatible with the surrounding area,
- Such a large development would require extensive commercial Infrastructure and services that are not in place nor budgeted, and
- There is not a commercial trend of development in the area.
For related articles see: Dimucci Property at Rte. 12 and Old McHenry Road
http://www.rdimucciproperty.com/updates.html
http://YouTube.com/Barry4Board Facts continually missed: 1) County staff should have rejected application THAT HAS NO site plan, developer, architect, tenant, financing, etc. 2) Closed door meetings prevented notice to region for 2+ years 3) So-called "compromise" also closed; did NOT include either the Dimuccis or any recognized stakeholder groups 4) Compromise is NOT subject of current ZBA hearing 5) Cross-examination of county staff was not permitted, despite their lengthy presentations and frequent directions to ZBA chair 3) As 400 people have filled the hearings week after week; impacts extend to 10,000+ residents and businesses 5) Everyone agrees: this site will be developed. But at 800k sf or 650k sf, a Super-Regional mall could attract as many annual visitors as Navy Pier (if successful) or seriously inflate current empty retail space (1 million sq. ft) Deborah Barry, candidate, D19, LCBoard