McGrath/Kia expansion at 250 Skokie Valley approved with landscaping variances; signage to return separately

McGrath Auto (Kia) presented a design‑review application for additions to the showroom and service area at 250 Skokie Valley Road. The Plan and Design Commission recommended approval of the design review with conditions and accepted several requested variances related to foundation and vehicular‑use landscaping, but clarified that signage is not approved at this hearing and must come forward under a separate permit.

Staff summarized the project: a 7,158‑square‑foot showroom and sales‑office addition, a 3,887‑square‑foot service‑reception/shop addition, and the removal of 34 surface parking/storage spaces to make those additions. The applicant’s site plan includes six proposed planter boxes mounted along the front façade and several small planters near the entry. The applicant requested relief from code sections that require a continuous five‑foot foundation planting strip adjacent to the addition (staff noted the constrained site and proposed planter boxes as an alternate) and from interior vehicular‑use landscaping islands.

Architect Erin Moore said the sign package is not yet developed and will come forward under a separate permit. The applicant noted the typical issue with dealership sites—large surfaced vehicular areas with limited opportunities for continuous foundation planting—and proposed concentrated planters, wall plantings and screening in lieu of a continuous five‑foot strip. Staff identified rooftop mechanical screening details and exterior lighting (3,000 K color temperature) as conditions of approval and asked that any new ground sign be accompanied by landscaping at both sign locations. Deliveries and vehicle moves will be restricted to on‑site areas and not allowed in the public right‑of‑way.

The commission voted to adopt findings recommending approval with the stated conditions and to require that any subsequent sign permit show plantings around both ground‑sign locations. The commission’s approval covered the building additions and allowed the requested landscaping relief, with the understanding that signage returns as a separate permit.