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Planning commission recommends approval of Route 30 car wash; trustees voice neighborhood safety and traffic concerns
Summary
The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended annexation, rezoning to B-2 and a variance to allow a car wash at the northeast corner of Orchard Road and U.S. Route 30; multiple trustees said they will oppose a final annexation when it returns to the board because of traffic and neighborhood impacts.
The Village of Montgomery planning commission recommended approval of an annexation, rezoning to B-2 and a variance to permit a car wash at the northeast corner of Orchard Road and U.S. Route 30, but trustees who heard the recommendation said they are concerned about traffic, noise and impacts on nearby homeowners.
The commission's recommendation — which the board accepted as a referral 6-0 — would allow the property owner (a contract purchaser) to annex and rezone the site for a commercial B-2 use. Staff noted the comprehensive plan designates the parcel for regional commercial use and that car washes are permitted in B-2 but require traffic review and access approvals.
Planner Sonia (last name on file) told the board the petitioner submitted a traffic study that the village engineer reviewed but that the site currently does not have access rights to Route 30. "They would need to obtain both IDOT approval for access on Route 30 as well as purchase the rights from the state," she said, and staff discussed a short-form annexation agreement that would de-annex the parcel if the access is not obtained within a specified period.
Trustees cited resident opposition and safety concerns at the Orchard/Route 30 intersection. Trustee Geier and others described hundreds of resident comments against the car wash and said the intersection already has a high accident rate. "The community does not want a car wash here," Trustee Geier said, adding that he will vote no on any annexation or ordinance that permits the use at that location.
Other trustees raised circulation worries including how vehicles would enter from Bradley and travel under existing traffic patterns; Trustee Maraszek described the intersection as "a nightmare" and said the car wash's novelty could attract customers from farther away and increase peak-hour stacking and turning conflicts.
The petitioner offered to provide a solid privacy fence along the property lines that abut the nearest residences and said it would pursue IDOT's permission for a right-in/right-out on Route 30; staff said access on Brentwood would be a full access point onto a residential street unless IDOT permits direct access to Route 30. The board was told that two small houses adjacent to the site are currently outside the village and that they do not have village water service.
Why it matters: annexation, rezoning and a variance would change land use from township residential to B-2 commercial. Nearby residents and trustees cited concerns about neighborhood impacts and safety at an already-congested intersection; the board discussed whether to request a formal ordinance to reject the petition outright given the strong opposition.
Next steps: the petition will return as ordinances for annexation, rezoning and the annexation agreement; staff plans to publish a required public hearing with first readings scheduled for Feb. 24 and the public hearing and second readings on March 10. Several trustees said they intend to oppose final approval.
