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Vernon Hills board directs staff to draft ordinance for Nest School special use amid traffic concerns
Summary
After extended testimony, the village board gave staff direction to draft an ordinance for Nest School’s special-use request at 401 Sullivan Drive despite resident concerns about increased left‑turn delays at U.S. 45; the ordinance will return to the board for formal vote on June 17.
The Vernon Hills Village Board on Wednesday directed staff to prepare an ordinance to grant zoning variations and a special use for the Nest School to operate a childcare facility at 401 Sullivan Drive, after hearing technical traffic analysis, operator testimony and resident concerns.
Christopher Canning, representing the Nest, summarized the site proposal and the operator’s experience and asked the board to adopt the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation. Traffic consultant Steve Corcoran of Ericsson Engineering presented a study of existing conditions, crash history and a gap study. Corcoran said the intersection’s five‑year crash rate is “0.2 crashes per million vehicle [entries],” well below common thresholds for required remediation, and that while left‑turn delays would increase in modeled future conditions, “there are sufficient gaps so that you will be able to make those turning movements.”
Residents and board members pressed the project team on morning and evening peak hours and drop‑off operations. The Nest’s representative said the facility would serve about 117 families and estimated peak simultaneous drop‑off vehicles in the 10–15‑car range, emphasizing a staggered drop‑off model rather than a single large loading zone. One trustee warned “there’s gonna be a lot of complaints” about longer waits for left turns from neighborhood streets onto U.S. 45.
Planning staff and the planning and zoning commission recommended conditions intended to reduce neighborhood impacts: limiting the special use specifically to the Nest operator (nontransferable without board approval), pursuing a “do not block intersection” sign through the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) if allowed, and adding signage or a do‑not‑block enforcement approach if IDOT approves. Staff noted IDOT control over highway signage and that final approval for some measures would be outside village authority.
Because the committee poll did not produce unanimity, the board directed staff to prepare the ordinance with the recommended conditions and return it as new business at the next board meeting on June 17 for a formal vote. The action is procedural direction only; no ordinance was adopted at this meeting.
What’s next: Staff will draft the ordinance incorporating the Planning and Zoning Commission’s conditions and the board’s direction, then place the item on the June 17 agenda for a formal vote.
