Politics & Government
UPDATE: Currie's Parking Lot Proposal Sparks Tension With Residents
Homeowners objected to a proposal from Currie Motors to rezone residential property for a new storage lot at a village plan commission meeting Thursday.
Updated: 1:14 p.m. Friday
Due to a request from Currie Motors, the plan commission public hearing originally scheduled for Jan. 24 has been moved to Feb. 14.
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The room was so crowded at Thursday’s village plan commission meeting that the commission members had to bring out extra chairs in order for everyone in attendance to have a place to sit.
Most of the meeting attendees were residents of 95th Avenue, 94th Avenue, Cambridge Court and Lawndale Court. They attended the plan commission meeting to object to a parking lot expansion proposed by Currie Motors Ford of Frankfort, their neighbor to the north.
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“I think it’s unfair for people who have been there for 20 years to now have to defend their own homes,” said Diane Cullen, a resident of Cambridge Court. “It’s ridiculous.”
Currie Motors informed the village in December that they were interested in expanding their lot space. The proposed parking area would house approximately 160 cars and would be built on property along 95th Avenue that is currently zoned residential and consists of two separate lots. In order for Currie Motors to build on the site, the property must be rezoned as commercial.
All lots immediately south of Currie Motors are zoned residential.
If approved, this would be the second parking expansion for Currie Motors in less than a year.
The Frankfort Village Board approved additions to Currie’s existing building, including the creation of a new storage lot, in July. Prior to the approval, the site of the parking area was zoned residential. The lot approved in July was sized to hold approximately 200 cars.
Representatives from Currie Motors say that the latest proposed lot will be the business’s last request to grow their storage space.
“We don’t envision any further expansion plans beyond this,” said Matthew Creen, general counsel for Currie.
Creen also said that the proposed lot would be used strictly as storage space and that the vehicles parked there would not be moved frequently. He also said that building the lot could have a positive impact on existing drainage issues in the area.
However, many residents expressed uncertainty about the proposal.
“I don’t trust them for an instant,” said Joanell Williams, a neighborhood resident. “I don’t trust the fact that it is going to stay just a parking lot.”
Homeowners voiced a wide range of concerns about the expansion, such as the intrusiveness of parking lot lighting and sounds in the community, the impact that a commercial expansion might have on property values and a lack of communication with residents about proposed development projects.
“We want to encourage our commercial citizens,” said Plan Commission Member John Newton. “This is one of those cases where that’s a tough balancing act.”
Thursday’s meeting was a workshop and was held solely as an opportunity for guidance and discussion regarding the proposal. The commission will have a public hearing and may give a recommendation to the village board at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 24. Based on Currie Motors’ projected timeline, the board will likely vote on the proposal at their meeting on Feb. 4.
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