The Gurnee Planning and Zoning Board Wednesday recommended approval of a special use permit for a heavy equipment dealership across from a residential subdivision.
More than a dozen homeowners from a section of the Concord Oaks subdivision attended the session to take issue with the petition.
The 4-2 board vote, with one absent, moves the McCullough Kubota Equipment dealership proposal to the Village Board for a final decision.
The 7225 Grand Ave. site formerly occupied by Anthony Pontiac-Buick is directly across from homes on Arlington Drive.
“I’m concerned, especially about storage, as the previous Buick dealership owner did not maintain the property including the berm fence and landscaping as promised,” nearby homeowner Kathy Tullio said. “This is industrial equipment, not cars and light trucks.”
Concord Oaks is a subdivision consisting of 375 single-family homes built in the 1990s and bounded by an area south of Grand Avenue, and east of Hunt Club Road.
In addressing the board, business owner Steve McCullough said, “I’m third-generation. It was started in 1940 by my father and grandfather … as an agricultural dealership and we are concentrating, with this store, a Kubota-only dealership, which will be … compact tractors and small tractors used by homeowners and contractors.”
Residents in proximity to the planned business addressed the board, suggesting the size of the operation would lower property values and affect their quality of life.
“I moved there in 1997, across the street, the very last home built in the subdivision,” Brian Malone said. “I ask that you consider the impact (on) home values. Let’s talk about the noise.
“The village, particularly myself, is greatly impacted in the early morning hours by the noise of trucks being brought in there,” he said. “Let’s talk about diesel impacting the air, test-driving the vehicles.”
McCullough said, “When you turn on a lawnmower, the blades would probably make as much noise as one of these tractors.”
When questioned by the board, McCullough said the volume of sales would be anticipated at $25 million to $35 million per year.
“I think they (residents) are correct in what they are saying about dealerships,” Dilley’s Road resident Dave
Zenner said. “I’ve been in dealerships all my life. I’ve never seen a tractor dealership in Gurnee before, and I don’t know why you would want to put one next to a residential area.”
Nearby resident Jackie Malone told the board, “I go out of my way to make sure my home … on the corner is very beautiful, very decorated. I don’t know where you live, but I don’t think you want that tractor place in
your neighborhood. This is not your neighborhood, it is our neighborhood.”
