Gurnee planning board declines to recommend Dream Clean car wash special use after residents raise traffic and noise concerns

The Village of Gurnee Planning and Zoning Board on Oct. 22 declined to recommend approval of a special-use permit for a Dream Clean (DCCW Acquisitions LLC) car wash proposed for 7340 Grand Avenue after extensive public comment about traffic, safety, noise and lighting. The recommendation vote failed on roll call.

Attorney Craig Crandall, representing DCCW Acquisitions (doing business as Dream Clean), presented the proposal for a 1.3-acre site in the Keystone Gurnee subdivision. Crandall said the proposed single-story facility would be about 5,740 square feet, hire 8 to 12 local employees (two to three on-site at a time), include three pay stations with stacking per village code, and provide 16 vacuum stalls (15 regular and one ADA). The company said it recycles roughly 80% of its wash water through filtration and that typical operating hours would be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Dream Clean representatives, including operations staff and director of development Nick Aveda, described noise-control measures and a company-commissioned sound study. Aveda acknowledged that blowers are the loudest equipment and said the operator limits blower runtime to when a car is exiting and uses…