GLENDALE HEIGHTS, Ill. — The Village of Glendale Heights' Committee of the Whole on Sept. 18 voted to forward a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation to the Village Board that would add firearms sales with indoor shooting ranges and electric-vehicle charging stations as conditional uses in the C‑3 General Commercial District.

The move does not approve any specific gun shop or range; it would only allow those uses to be considered, on a case-by-case basis, in properties zoned C‑3. Planning staff told the committee that conditional-use reviews would require a public hearing and could include conditions such as traffic studies or other safeguards.

Planning staff said the intent is to keep potentially sensitive uses subject to individual review rather than making them outright permitted. “The conditional use is a mechanism for us to get a quality product that is not going to be injurious to the neighbors,” a planning staff member said during the meeting.

Residents from neighborhoods near a location under informal consideration pressed the board to require additional study before allowing the use anywhere in C‑3. Kim Sharma, who gave her address as 1025 Victoria Lane, said the nearest property is “right behind” single‑family homes and raised public-safety and noise concerns. “We don't want a gun in that area,” Sharma said. Another resident asked whether a traffic and parking study had been done; planning staff and trustees said prior traffic information exists but that additional, site‑specific studies could be required as part of any conditional‑use review.

Other concerns raised by speakers included the proximity of a cannabis dispensary on the same corridor, potential downward pressure on nearby property values, and the presence of children and school bus activity near the neighborhood entrance. “There are kids in the morning standing on the roads,” one resident told the committee.

Planning staff reiterated that making the use conditional — not permitted outright — allows the village to require specific mitigations when a business applies for a particular site. “If the planning commission felt it was necessary, they could require a traffic study,” the planner said.

At the Committee of the Whole, Trustee Lane moved to forward the Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation to the Village Board with a recommendation to concur; the motion passed on a roll-call vote. The committee recorded a unanimous vote to forward the recommendation.

Discussion vs. decision: the committee action was procedural. It does not approve a business or location; rather it asks the Village Board to consider amending the zoning text so that future applicants for firearms sales or indoor ranges in C‑3 would apply for a conditional use and face a public hearing and possible conditions. No site-specific permit, license, or building approval was granted.

The Village Board will take up the zoning-text amendment at a future meeting. If the board (and, where applicable, the planning commission) later considers a specific proposal, that applicant would need to submit a conditional-use application and the village would post notice, hold a public hearing and decide whether to approve or deny that particular application.

Ending: Committee and planning staff encouraged residents with site- or parcel-specific concerns to participate in any future public hearings, at which the village can require traffic studies, parking plans and other conditions tailored to a particular location.