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Vernon Hills planning panel recommends special use for Treehouse Play Cafe; signage variance approved
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Commission voted 3–2 to recommend approval of a special‑use permit for Treehouse Play Cafe at 555 E. Townline Road and unanimously approved a signage variance. Commissioners flagged security and child‑supervision concerns; the item moves to the Village Board on June 16.
The Vernon Hills Planning and Zoning Commission on June 6 recommended that the Village Board approve a special‑use permit for Treehouse Play Cafe, a children’s indoor play and café proposed at 555 East Townline Road, Unit 8. The recommendation passed on a 3–2 roll call after commissioners debated safety and supervision provisions.
Applicant Mike Ferguson presented the Treehouse model, which operates existing locations in Lake Zurich and McHenry and proposes to occupy the former Party City footprint (about 12,000 square feet) with a large play structure, a gated toddler area for ages 3 and under, three party rooms, a café kitchen (electric cooking, a planned hood), a mother’s room, family restroom, and an alarm/camera system. Ferguson said the operation does not offer drop‑off service, requires parental supervision, staffs parties and open play, and has staff certified in food safety.
“Our model is supervised play; we don’t have drop‑offs,” Ferguson said, emphasizing sightlines and staffing. He said the business holds beer‑and‑wine licenses at its other locations and expects alcohol to account for well under 5% of sales.
Several residents had earlier urged restrictions on truck routes and overnight activity at the nearby former American Hotel/warehouse site; commissioners and members of the public raised similar safety questions about supervision at children’s facilities. Resident Jim Fields, who said he has lived behind the former American Hotel site for 52 years, urged that the village require no truck traffic between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. and asked how the industrial reuse might affect property values. Doug Flater asked whether a signal or other mitigation would be installed at North Woodbine to handle semis entering Milwaukee Avenue.
During deliberations on the Treehouse application, staff noted the draft motion omitted a variance tied to total sign square footage. The commission then considered two votes: a recommendation to the board for the special‑use permit (passed 3–2; Commissioner Hendrick, Commissioner Fluno and Chair Pro Tim Hener voting yes; Commissioners Cotton and Nabbit voting no) with a condition that staff review stop‑sign placement prior to occupancy, and a separate motion to recommend approval of the requested signage variations (approved unanimously, 5–0) to permit the proposed logo dimensions and combined square footage.
Commissioners who opposed the special use cited lingering security questions about drop‑off potential and the difficulty of guaranteeing parental supervision regardless of facility rules; proponents pointed to the applicant’s staffing plans, sightlines and industry experience. The commission’s approval packages and conditions will be forwarded to the Village Board committee of the whole for consideration on June 16.
If the Village Board votes in favor, the applicant will also need to finalize building permits and any outstanding technical reviews required for the kitchen hood, signage, and other code items before occupancy.
