Plainfield Residents Unhappy About Possible Auto Repair Shop Location

Photo: Route 59 Auto owner Rich Brauer, developer Rick McCraney and realtor Bill Caton talk to a group of concerned Plainfield residents over the location of an auto repair shop.

While their numbers may have been few, Plainfield residents made sure their voices were heard in reference to the construction of an auto repair store behind their homes.

The meeting, held Thursday evening at the Plainfield Congregational Church located at 24020 W. Fraser Rd., brought together residents of Burgundy Drive who say they don’t want Route 59 Auto to be built behind their homes because of the noise pollution it will allegedly bring.

Route 59 Auto owners Rich and Linda Brauer, along with real estate agent and marketing person Bill Caton and developer Rick McCraney, held a meeting to try come to an agreement with homeowners.

“It’s very important to us that we be good stewards,” Linda Brauer said at the meeting. “We take serious the ecological impact our business has.”

Linda Brauer said they’ve taken the step to become the first green-certified repair shop in the United States.

“An example of how we run our business different than other repair shops is if there’s a chemical spill, meaning oil, antifreeze, we purchase absorbent mats and then we pay to have them removed. That’s not a requirement by law, that’s a practice we’ve put in place because we think it’s important to be good stewards of our environment,” she said.

But their green-friendly environmental interests weren’t enough to sway Burgundy Drive residents. It’s the noise they will find most bothersome.

Maureen Lentz said she went to the current location of Route 59 Auto and listened to noise coming from the building.

“Honestly, to consider putting a building right in our back yard is unneighborly,” Lentz said. “That kind of business should not be smack dab in a residential area.”

Lentz also said their homes will lose property value if the business moves in.

Route 59 Auto currently sits at 24010 W Renwick Rd. Before moving to Plainfield, the Brauers held a shop in Downers Grove for about eight years. But raising their family there became too costly and they decided to move to their current location. However, they’ve been renting their place and want a business location to call their own. The new proposed site will be built in a vacant lot between Burgundy Drive and the Plainfield Congregational Church.

“Our goal is to have a beautiful, brand new facility,” Linda Brauer said.

The Brauers said they’ll have reasonable business hours and will never be open on Sunday.

“That’s a promise we made to each other,” Linda Brauer said.

The hours would be from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Rich Brauer said they haven’t had one complaint at their current location.

“We try to do our best to keep noise to a minimum,” he said.

But some of the residents insisted that the family wouldn’t want a business like that in their own backyard.

“You wouldn’t want tow trucks dropping off cars at night,” Lentz said.

Burgundy Drive resident Rebecca Rolnick said in a phone interview prior to the meeting that she doesn’t want the building there because of the possible smell, noise and property value decrease.

Rolnick also has a pool and said she would feel uncomfortable to go for a swim and have other people around and able to see her.

There will be a planning and zoning meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6 and a village hall meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19 where residents can address their concerns.