Planning commission backs Kwik Trip at 505 S. McLean despite tree, traffic and air-quality concerns
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Summary
The Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission on April 6 recommended approval of a three-lot subdivision and PNB zoning to allow a 24-hour Kwik Trip with accessory packaged-liquor sales at 505 S. McLean Blvd., voting 4-1 after residents and at least one commissioner raised concerns about traffic, emergency-vehicle access and the loss of roughly 470 trees on the site.
The Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission on April 6 voted 4-1 to recommend approval of petitions 46-25, 47-25 and 48-25, allowing Kwik Trip Corporation to subdivide about 11.7 acres at 505 S. McLean Boulevard into three lots and to build a 6,445-square-foot, 24-hour convenience store with eight pump islands (16 fueling positions) on Lot 1.
City planning staff (Damir) told the commission the project includes a rezoning to Planned Neighborhood Business for Lots 1 and 2, a Planned Community Facility designation for the wetland-encumbered outlot, and three departures from the zoning ordinance: reduced interior parking-lot landscaping (2% proposed vs. 5% required), an underground detention approach in lieu of a shared above-ground detention lot because a wetland limits developable area, and an outlot that will not front on a public right-of-way. Staff recommended approval subject to standard conditions, including tree-preservation compliance and a three-year window for the applicant to establish and open the facility.
Why it matters: The site sits at the southeast corner of South McLean Boulevard and Fleetwood Drive adjacent to existing neighborhood-business uses. Staff and the applicant argue the location and traffic mitigation will accommodate the development; opponents warned the change could worsen local congestion and reduce the corridor’s tree canopy.
During a detailed presentation staff said the parcel contains about 470 trees in total and that the applicant proposes installing 82 new trees on Lot 1, with roughly 31 of those counting toward replacement requirements. "We have normal requirements that are, you know, street trees... so any trees beyond that will then count towards this replacement," staff said.
Resident Diane Hargrave Jones, speaking during public comment, urged the commission to consider emergency-vehicle access and pedestrian safety and said the neighborhood already suffers congestion and air-quality impacts. "I have a right to breathe clean air," she said, describing health concerns among seniors in the nearby Fleetwood senior building.
Applicant representatives and consultants responded that the wetland area in the rear will remain undeveloped and that modern fueling systems are designed to limit volatile organic compound emissions. Ali Bucharest, the project manager for Kwik Trip, said the company’s pumps use vapor recovery systems and that on past projects his team recorded emissions below strict California standards. "Our gas pumps have vapor systems where VOCs don't leak in the air," Bucharest said.
The commission questioned the traffic study’s weekday sampling and asked whether weekend sports events could change traffic patterns. The city’s traffic reviewer said the larger traffic drivers are weekday industrial and college-related trips and that proposed signal timing adjustments and channelization at the Fleetwood intersection should reduce queueing. The applicant also agreed to align a Fleetwood driveway with neighboring access points and to move the McLean access as far from the intersection as possible as a right-in/right-out.
Commissioner Olsen voted no and emphasized the canopy loss. "I hate to lose 400 trees on McLean Boulevard," Olsen said, noting the area’s limited remaining tree canopy as a factor in her decision. Other commissioners said police and fire had reviewed the access plan and raised no objections.
The commission’s recommendation advances the applications to Elgin City Council for final action; staff noted outstanding engineering/stormwater comments must be resolved during permitting."
