Bartlett planning commission backs rezoning for Horizon Plaza auto gallery and service center

The Bartlett Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday voted unanimously to recommend that the Village Board approve Case 26‑05, rezoning a 9.74‑acre parcel at the southwest corner of Lake Street and Horizon Drive from ER1 to B3 and allowing a Planned Unit Development with special uses for an auto gallery/showroom, automotive repair, wetland modification and the opportunity to apply for liquor and video‑gaming licenses.

Petitioner attorney Peter Bezos, representing Bartlett Automotive Mall LLC, told the commission the proposed building would be about 47,778 square feet with two tenants: a west gallery/showroom for classic and vintage cars that the applicant described as primarily invitation‑only and occasionally available for private business events, and an east service unit containing repair bays to support nearby Hyundai/Genesis dealerships. Bezos said the gallery’s hosting uses would be limited, estimating capacity “not more than 60 people” and typically 30–35 cars for occasional events.

Bezos and the project team — project manager John Eley, civil engineer Bob Goodmanson and landscape planner Megan Whis — presented site, landscaping and wetland plans. Goodmanson said there are two existing wetlands on the site (one “over an acre,” described as more than 46,000 square feet, and one “a little over 38,000 square feet”) and estimated the total encroachment by the project at about 7,800 square feet. He told the commission that the development would preserve more than 69% of the property as open space.

The petitioners offered specific mitigation and landscaping commitments. The applicant said the impacted wetland area totals roughly 0.18 acres and the plan calls for replanting in that zone (the team said it would add 38 trees and 105 bushes in the impacted wetland area). The submitted landscape plan also lists roughly 120 new trees and 391 bushes elsewhere on the site, plus perennials and ornamental grasses for screening between the site and adjacent townhomes.

On operating details, the project team said the service unit would focus on light‑duty work and overflow repair services for adjacent dealerships rather than a conventional public body shop: “Zero paint and body shop activity,” the petitioner stated. The team said customers generally would not interface at the offsite repair bays and that vehicles could be shuttled between the main dealership and the offsite service bays. The petitioners also committed to signage, staff education and coordination with Bartlett police to discourage traffic through nearby neighborhoods and to enforce no‑right‑turn restrictions where agreed.

Neighbors who spoke during the public comment period raised multiple concerns. Residents asked whether the developer would preserve mature trees on Horizon Drive, who would maintain landscaping, whether sidewalks would be added on the Lake Street frontage, and whether the service work would generate continuous drive‑through traffic. Several speakers objected to the prospect that the zoning change would allow the applicants to later seek a full liquor license or video‑gaming; Don Llewellyn said a full liquor and gaming license within about 1,000 feet of family homes is “a red flag.” Other residents urged immediate traffic safety improvements at Horizon Drive and the frontage road, asked the village to pursue a three‑way stop at a nearby intersection, and asked for clarity on construction traffic routing.

Village staff and the applicant answered technical questions from residents and commissioners. Staff noted that the village controls frontage‑road maintenance and curb/sidewalk improvements but that the Illinois Department of Transportation controls the Lake Street intersection; staff said the petitioner will be required to install curb and a sidewalk segment along the frontage road and that intersection improvements such as a separate right‑turn lane would require IDOT approval. The petitioner said it had previously explored, unsuccessfully, acquiring an easement or constructing a connecting drive across the neighboring Morettes parcel to reduce local circulation impacts.

After discussion, a commissioner moved for a positive recommendation to the Village Board, with the motion specifying approval of rezoning from ER1 to B3, preliminary and final PUD approval, and special‑use permits to allow liquor service, automotive sales, automotive repair and wetland alteration subject to staff conditions. The motion was seconded and passed on a unanimous roll call vote of commissioners present (names recorded in the meeting minutes). The commission’s positive recommendation will go to the Village Board (committee of the whole) for further consideration; a committee date had not been set at the meeting’s end.

Next steps: the Village Board will review the commission’s recommendation at committee level; separate licensing processes would be required for any liquor or gaming permits and would include additional public notice and hearings.