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Oswego planning and zoning commissioners joined nearby residents in questioning whether a gas station and car wash proposed on the village’s west side was the best use for the property.
At their March 7 meeting, the majority of commissioners voted against recommending Gas N Wash’s plans to build a gas station, convenience store and car wash on 10.81 acres at the northeast corner of Orchard and Mill roads. Gas N Wash will now have to decide if it wants to take the project to the Oswego Village Board with a negative recommendation from the commission.
“I’m not sold that this is the best use for this property,” commissioner Rick Kuhn said prior to voting against the plans. “I think that among uses, this is one of the most intense uses we could allow there and it’s [open] 24-7, so I’m not sold on that.”
Attorney Lyman Tieman, who represents Gas N Wash, was asked about the planned hours of operation.
“The convenience store and the gas pumps and the diesel pumps are typically 24-7,” he said. “The car wash is typically 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.”
The property is zoned B-3 commercial service and wholesale district and is designated as high density residential in the village’s Comprehensive Plan.
“The proposed use is consistent with the current zoning of the site,” Oswego Development Services Director Rod Zenner told commissioners.
The proposed uses for a gas station and convenience store are permitted uses in the B-3 district and the proposed car wash is a special use in the B-3 district. Gas N Wash proposes to subdivide the parcel into two lots.
“I’m not sold that this is the best use for this property. I think that among uses, this is one of the most intense uses we could allow there and it’s (open) 24-7, so I’m not sold on that.”
— Rick Kuhn, plan commission member
The first lot – which consists of 4.88 acres and is at the southwest corner of the site – is for the proposed gas station/convenience store/car wash. The second lot consists of 5.22 acres and is located on the east and north of the first lot. No users for this parcel are identified at this time.
Anne Sullivan, who lives on Wolverine Drive in Oswego near the proposed development, expressed her concerns about the project’s impact on nearby homes.
“I think we expected possibly some retail, a restaurant, smaller office buildings, that kind of thing,” Sullivan said in talking about possible plans for the land. “That is a residential entrance there and that is going to be a big safety concern for the bike pedestrian path that goes along Mill Street.”
She voiced concerns about the potential noise the development would generate.
“We have a problem with Orchard Road as it is,” Sullivan said. “Motorcycles are ramping it up over 100 miles an hour on a regular basis. It’s like a launch pad there.”
Sullivan requested that a wall be built to block sound, noise and traffic coming through the property lines.
David Jacobs, who lives on Bucktail Drive, was worried about the additional traffic the gas station would create. He said Mill Road already has traffic problems.
“In the afternoon, you try to turn from Mill Road onto Bucktail and it’s almost impossible,” he told commissioners. “Traffic on Mill Road is almost like Route 34. I don’t think Mill Road can support the additional traffic for a gas station. Adding to that, you have the cricket stadium going up and you have the concert venue across the street. I think more consideration needs to be given to expanding Mill Road and putting some turn lanes in before you do anything.”
Commissioners said the gas station would not have access to Bucktail Drive, but a future development planned on the site could have.
“There is another lot that is part of the parcel that will have access,” Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Charlie Pajor said.
Commissioner Brian Thomas also wanted to make sure nearby residents would be protected from any noise generated by the gas station and shielded from lights pointed in their direction. As part of its recommendation of the project, village staff has suggested the developer install additional landscaping and a fence or wall to screen the car wash along the entrance to the car wash.
Project architect Chris Pacanowski of the WT Group told commissioners that an 8-foot high fence with a sound barrier that would block 98% of direct sound is being proposed. In addition, he said the lighting has been reduced and the LED lighting would be guided in a certain direction.