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Antioch planning board recommends approval of Oasis assisted‑living special use, asks that traffic study be submitted to Village Board
Summary
At a May 6 public hearing the Antioch Planning & Building Board recommended approval of a special‑use permit and site plan for a 60,000‑sq‑ft Oasis assisted‑living and memory‑care facility at 919 East Route 173, but required that a site‑specific traffic study be presented to the Village Board before final approval.
The Antioch Planning & Building Board on May 6 recommended approval of a special‑use permit and the accompanying site plan for a one‑story, roughly 60,000‑square‑foot assisted‑living and memory‑care facility proposed at 919 East Route 173, but the board said it wants a site‑specific traffic study provided to the Village Board before final action.
The project, listed in the packet as PCB 26‑08, was presented to the board by a staff planner and by representatives of Oasis Assisted Living. Sam Martin, who identified himself as the representative of Oasis, said the company operates several facilities in other states and was ready to begin because prior approvals lapsed when construction did not start in time. "We have three shifts... those people don't all come in at the same time, and they don't all leave at the same time," Martin said when describing staff patterns and arguing the development would generate less traffic than a residential subdivision.
Neighbors who live behind the proposed parcel strongly disputed the developer's traffic and emergency‑call estimates. Resident Robert Opel, speaking on behalf of nearby Redwing View residents, read a petition with 110 signatures and said the "project far exceeds what the parcel can support," listing concerns about light, noise, privacy, parking, construction impacts and ambulance activity. "The impacts will be profoundly disruptive to our residential area," Opel said.
Project engineers described a landscape buffer and berm on the east side intended to screen the subdivision: "it will be densely vegetated with evergreens and... deciduous trees and plants," said Abi Vir, identified in the record as the civil engineer on the project. Exhibits shown at the hearing list planting counts (about 150 shrubs/trees on the front and roughly 344 shrubs and 20–23 trees on the sides) and buffer widths; staff noted the proposed plantings exceed village minimums.
The central point of contention during the hearing was ambulance frequency and the adequacy of traffic analysis. Oasis representatives characterized ambulance calls as infrequent at comparable facilities, while residents cited examples and industry experience saying calls can be much more frequent. Board staff later noted earlier notes indicated about "6 to 9 ambulances every 90 days" at comparable facilities; the board concluded those discrepancies warranted a site‑specific traffic and emergency‑service assessment before the Village Board decision.
After discussion, a board member moved to recommend approval of the special use with the condition that the applicant provide a traffic study to the Village Board for review; another motion to approve the site plan (PZB26‑08) also passed. The board completed roll‑call votes on both recommendations; Turner was recorded absent at roll call earlier in the meeting.
The board's recommendation is advisory; final approval rests with the Antioch Village Board when the applicant formally presents the package to that body. The Planning & Building Board adjourned after recording its recommendations.
