A Northbrook used car dealership wants to display vehicles outside and the Village Board agreed to forward its request to the Plan Commission.
Carneed, 3160 Commercial Ave., which received approval to operate an indoor sales lot in July 2022, wants to expand their vehicle display to parking spots outside its building after the village received a complaint that the company was already using outside parking, said Michaela Kohlstedt, deputy director of development and planning for the village.
After some discussion, the Village Board agreed by consent at its Oct. 8 meeting to send the company to the Plan Commission for review.
“I’m glad to hear that they’re doing well and have a lot of cars for sale,” Trustee Johanna Hebl said. “I just think we want to help businesses thrive here. I’m excited about allowing (their requests) with the restrictions we mentioned about safety and parking and all that.”
Amy McEwan, interim director of planning services for Northbrook, called it a “good thing” that Carneed has grown and needs to expand to outdoor vehicle display. Its original permit did not allow for outdoor use, McEwan said.
Carneed has proposed using 22 existing parking stalls on its property, while leaving 24 additional parking spaces near the front of the business for customers and employees, she said.
The parking change will reduce the number of public spaces by about 11 percent, or three, from 27 to 24, McEwan said. Carneed is located in an industrial zoning district, she said.
“The outdoor use is appropriate for the district,” McEwen said. “It is also appropriate to grant a parking variation for up to three spaces. That might be refined as we go through the process.”
Trustee Robert Israel, who acted as president pro tempore at the Oct. 8 meeting, asked how many vehicles the company can fit inside its 24,134-square-foot single-story building.
“They have 75 cars listed,” Israel said. “It seems it would be impossible to fit them all in overnight. Are they planning to do overnight parking?”
McEwen said they currently fit all of their vehicles indoors at night and are not planning to store them outdoors on their site.
“We can further investigate and make sure we understand the extent of their request,” she said. “Safe travel passage on the interior will be part of our review moving forward.”
“I would like to make sure they’re not overflowing, because it becomes a security and policing risk,” Israel said.
McEwen said Northbrook received only one complaint about Carneed, and it was about storing vehicles outdoors.
“They’ve got good ratings,” Israel said.
Trustee Joy Ebhomielen said she purchased a vehicle from the company a few years ago.
“It was a good experience,” Ebhomielen said. “They’re knowledgeable people.”
Ebhomielen said the company might store some of their vehicles at other locations.
“It’s not as if the place was filled up with cars,” she said of her visit. “It’s a huge empty space inside, but I would like to confirm, so we are on the same page, whether they intend to take all of them inside every night.”
Hebl said she has no problem with Carneed’s requests for zoning relief and a special use permit, but wants to confirm the company’s plans for parking of vehicles at night.
