Planning board backs smaller landscape buffer and grants sign relief for proposed QuikTrip

Gabe Longorion, real estate project manager for Quik Trip Corporation, told the Gurnee Planning and Zoning Board on July 1 that a Lake County right‑turn lane planned at the Skolki/Delaney intersection would push the parcel boundary inward and make the code’s 25‑ft landscape buffer impractical. He asked the board for a special use permit to relieve the 25‑ft buffer and a minor sign exception to allow a closer, taller monument sign.

The board’s recommendation matters because the landscape buffer decision must go to the village board; the sign exception was decided at this level. Longorion said the proposed Gen‑4 QuikTrip store would sit on roughly 2.5 acres with a double‑stack fueling canopy serving up to 14 vehicles simultaneously and 38 parking spaces. He said the county’s roadwork would reduce the parcel’s usable width by about 12.5 ft, preventing compliance with a 25‑ft buffer but not code requirements for plant counts. "We will still be providing all of the trees and all the shrubs ... that is still required by the code of ordinances," he said.

Longorion described the sign request in technical terms: the company asked to reduce a sign setback to 4 ft from the property line and to allow a vertical monument sign approximately 15 ft 5.5 in tall because the standard monument sign footprint could not fit once the lane reduction is applied. He said the taller vertical sign would allow motorists on North Delaney to see the store and up‑to‑date fuel pricing.

Board members pressed the petitioner on landscaping maintenance and snow removal and asked whether the narrowed buffer would reduce the number or quality of required plantings. Longorion responded that the width is reduced but that the property will meet the code’s planting counts and species requirements. The board also discussed cross‑access easements and Lake County DOT’s role in approving the final access configuration.

At public comment, David Zullik, operator of the car wash behind the site, said he supported the development and welcomed the proposed improvements and landscaping. After more deliberation, Member Campbell moved to recommend that the village board approve relief from the 25‑ft buffer to 12.77 ft for the property at 1207 North Skolki Highway. The motion passed on a roll call with all members voting in favor. The board separately moved and approved a minor sign exception allowing a 4‑ft sign setback and a 3‑ft‑5.25‑in monument sign height increase; roll call votes were unanimous in favor.

The recommendation on the landscape buffer now goes to the village board, which will make the final decision on the buffer; the petitioner may also need Lake County DOT permits for the roadwork before final site work and building permits.