'Forgotten' In Clarendon Hills: Residents Hire Lawyer

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – The neighbors of a proposed Dunkin' Donuts restaurant have enlisted a lawyer to help fight it.

The village's zoning board plans to take up the issue at its meeting Thursday night.

Neighbors oppose the project because they believe it would worsen traffic at 55th Street and Western Avenue. The village disagrees.

Last week, Joliet attorney Michael R. Martin wrote the village to protest the plan. He represents the Reserve of Clarendon Hills Homeowners Association and the Coventry of Clarendon Hills condo association.

"The Village should be aware that in both the Reserve and the (Coventry) neighborhoods, you have numerous Village residents who feel abandoned and forgotten by the Village, (which) appears dead set on approving the Application despite its failure to comply with the Village's Approval Standards."

Among other things, he said the village needs to first consider approving the development as a subdivision or planned unit development. That's because the property in question involves three lots, he said.

Doing otherwise, Martin said, would put the "cart before the horse."

The developer, Hinsdale-based KrohVan LLC, is proposing a 6,000-square-foot building. A third of the development would be for a combination Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins restaurant. The rest is for a yet-to-be-determined retailer.

KrohVan is seeking a conditional use permit to include a drive-thru. The property is the site of the old Tracy's Tavern at 55th and Western.

In his letter, Martin asked the city to find a venue large enough for the audience at Thursday's meeting. He projected 150 to 200 people would show up. The Village Hall meeting chambers would not fit that big of a crowd.

He said the village should let residents comment on the proposal because the developer has submitted new information since last month's meeting.

Not doing so, he said, would violate the residents' due process rights.

Martin's specialties include zoning and land use law.