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Riverwoods considers designating Out Lot A a village street to clarify access near Elevate Care and CubeSmart
Summary
Village Attorney Bruce Hovard told trustees the village owns an access strip (Out Lot A) next to Deerfield Road used under cross-easements by Thornton's and CubeSmart. He proposed designating the outlot a village street to remove easement holder approval rights and give the village control over access as the county rebuilds the roadway as part of a project affecting Elevate Care.
Village Attorney Bruce Hovard walked the Board of Trustees through a map and property history on Sept. 2, asking the village to consider designating an existing village outlot (Out Lot A) as a regular village street to clarify access control for the properties south of Deerfield Road.
Hovard said Out Lot A is village-owned and was originally created during a subdivision that made land for Thornton's and CubeSmart. Easements were established in favor of Thornton's and CubeSmart so those properties could access Deerfield Road; under those easements the commercial users took on maintenance obligations. Hovard said the county is acquiring property and will close one of Elevate Care’s curb cuts as part of a separate project; the county has offered to reconstruct Out Lot A as a three-lane roadway with gutters and stormwater features and to extend some paving onto Elevate Care’s parking lot.
"What I propose to do is to tell Florence and CubeSmart that the village will designate our outlot as a regular street," Hovard told trustees, adding that such a designation would remove easement holders’ approval rights and make clear that the village controls access. He said the village would not be required to share construction costs; the county’s project includes the road rebuilding and the county would pay those costs as part of its negotiations with Elevate.
Trustees asked about maintenance and snow removal. Hovard said under the existing easement agreements Thornton's and CubeSmart had been responsible for road maintenance and that any change to a village-street designation would make the village responsible for plowing the service drive to the edge of the service area. Trustees also asked how designating the outlot would affect Thornton's and CubeSmart’s title-insurance access and how to negotiate modifications to existing easements.
Hovard said he would negotiate modifications to the easement agreements with Thornton's and CubeSmart and report back to the board. The board did not vote on the proposal at the Sept. 2 meeting; counsel characterized the discussion as preliminary alignment of village policy before staff and counsel take next steps.
