Plan commission recommends zoning and special-use approval for Quick Trip site, with sustainability, landscaping and neighborhood conditions

The Riverwoods Plan Commission voted 5–1 on April 14 to recommend rezoning roughly 6.3 acres known as the Cellbar property on Milwaukee Avenue to the village B1 neighborhood business district and to grant a special use allowing a Quick Trip Corporation service station and convenience store, subject to conditions requested by commissioners.

The vote followed a multi-hour public hearing in which Quick Trip representatives described a preliminary site plan with a 64-by-45-foot building, a fuel canopy serving 16 fueling points and four 15,000-gallon underground storage tanks; the company said roughly half the tract lies within a flood plain and that it submitted engineering, stormwater and photometric studies. Ali Bukhres, project manager with Quick Trip Corporation, told the commission the firm operates nationally and is prepared to work with village staff on landscaping and sustainability measures.

Why it matters: Residents who live directly across the street pressed commissioners on environmental, traffic and quality-of-life grounds, saying the corridor already has multiple service stations and raising specific worries about stormwater, the aquifer and the impact of nighttime lighting and increased traffic on a constrained intersection. The commission’s recommendation will be transmitted to the village board, which is scheduled to review annexation and related agreements.

"We are more than happy to work with staff and get a landscape plan worked out to where it's agreeable to both," Bukhres said during the presentation, offering to include EV chargers and to coordinate with village requirements. Several commissioners said they wanted those commitments spelled out as conditions.

Residents sought stronger safeguards. "There are six gas stations within not even a mile already," said Sue Rzden, who lives on Inverary Lane, citing concerns about flooding, construction impacts and oversaturation of the market. Other neighbors voiced similar objections and asked about the fate of a small historic one-room schoolhouse on the site.

Quick Trip and its attorneys responded that the company and the village have been negotiating utility access, that Lake County engineers had not blocked a path forward and that applicable state and county spill and environmental reporting rules apply. Mr. Raleigh, speaking for the applicant, said Quick Trip had been coordinating with Lake County and IDOT on sewer, water and access issues and noted the company had agreed to grant an easement to facilitate a county force main replacement.

Commissioners and staff discussed outstanding technical items the final plan must address: traffic-signal design and access points (IDOT retains jurisdiction for access on Milwaukee Avenue), stormwater and watershed-development compliance, native buffering in floodplain-adjacent areas, and the scope of required site engineering. Commissioners said they wanted the final submittal to demonstrate conformance with Riverwoods’ ordinances and to minimize off-site impacts.

The commission attached four conditions in its recommendation: that the final development plan include EV charging stations; that native landscaping and buffering be strengthened consistent with the watershed-development ordinance; that the developer hold a focused meeting with adjacent neighbors and report back before final approval; and that final civil plans address IDOT’s access/signal requirements and village stormwater standards. The plan commission’s formal report will present those conditions to the board.

Vote at a glance: the commission’s roll-call recorded five votes in favor and one opposed. Chairperson Breitoff cast the lone "no" vote; Commissioners Bllelock, Brown, Bazard, Gratitor and Romanelli voted "yes." The motion recommended zoning the property B1 and granting the special use, noting the plan presented was preliminary and would require a final plan that conforms substantially to the preliminary design.

What happens next: The village board will consider annexation and the plan commission’s recommendation at an upcoming meeting; if the board approves annexation, the final development plan and special-use ordinance would return for review and any material changes could be sent back to the plan commission. Commissioners asked village staff to schedule a follow-up meeting with traffic engineering present to review IDOT signal plans and the traffic study.

Stakeholders: Quick Trip Corporation; nearby residents of Inverary Lane, Chvy Chase and neighboring subdivisions; Lake County (sewer/water coordination); IDOT (Milwaukee Avenue access); village planning staff.

The hearing record and the plan commission’s report will accompany the board packet when the annexation and ordinance are considered.