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 high-speed doors to reduce noise escape. The petitioner said the design orients noisy equipment away from residences, includes a four-foot solid wall and uses landscaping to screen lights and headlights.

Residents from the adjacent Bridlewood neighborhood urged the board to reject the proposal, citing short distance between the service road and back yards, frequent cut-through traffic on the private service road behind the houses, nighttime glare from existing lights, and safety concerns for children. Kevin Lima, a Bridlewood resident, said the service road is “super dangerous” during peak hours and that lights and traffic already diminish the neighborhood’s quality of life. Scott Musick, another resident, said the proposed buffering and a four-foot berm and plantings are inadequate given the proximity of back yards to the service road and asked for stronger screening.

Developer Tim Hague of Keystone Ventures said the property was annexed and zoned commercial in 2003 and that the development includes a berm averaged at about four feet with plantings installed early; he offered to meet with neighbors to consider denser evergreen plantings or a fence. Hague said some access restrictions are controlled by outside agencies (Illinois Department of Transportation and Lake County) and that cross-access rights and the later build-out of adjacent parcels — including a proposed medical office — could reduce cut-through traffic over time. He also said the developer would consider traffic-calming measures on the private service drive, including speed tables, if studies and staff recommend them.

Village planning staff reminded the board that car washes are a special use in the zoning code because of potential traffic and noise impacts; staff noted that permitted-by-right uses would not require this public hearing process. Staff said lighting and photometric plans were included in the application and meet village requirements.

Board members discussed stacking capacity, differences in peak hours among adjacent uses, and potential traffic patterns through the private service road. The petitioner stated that the facility’s stacking meets the code requirement — showing 21 stacking spaces (three pay stations with seven stacking spaces each) — and estimated an average of about 400 cars per day, while noting throughput can be increased up to industry maximums during peak days. The sound study and water-reuse systems were discussed as mitigation measures.

After public comment and discussion, a motion recommending approval of the special-use permit was called and failed on roll call, so the board made no recommendation to the Village Board. Staff said they will notify interested parties about any future Village Board hearing should the petitioner seek to advance the application.

Key facts from the record: Dream Clean (DCCW Acquisitions LLC) proposed a 1.3-acre site with a 5,740-square-foot building, 16 vacuum stalls, three pay stations with code-mandated stacking, operating hours 8 a.m.–8 p.m., and water-filtration that the petitioner described as recycling about 80% of wash water. The developer and petitioner committed to additional neighbor outreach and said they would consider denser plantings, fencing where appropriate, and traffic-calming studies for the private service road.

What happens next: Staff will keep the petitioner and neighbors advised; the applicant can return with revised plans or present directly to the Village Board. The board’s failure to recommend leaves the item to the applicant’s discretion for next procedural steps.