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A 6,000-square-foot retail building with a drive-thru may be coming to Crystal Lake by Thornton’s off Route 31.
Developers are proposing to create a “standard strip center” with multiple uses divided for up to four tenants with a drive-thru at the end on a vacant lot at 911 Tek Drive, architect Dave Henry said. The area is zoned commercial, according to city documents. No businesses are confirmed to occupy the building, yet, Henry said.
“We don’t know the actual uses, yet,” he said. “So we’re kind of guessing with the parking.”
The Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission approved the proposal in a 6-1 vote Wednesday.
Developers propose shared entry points through the Thornton’s site and Altoff Home Services property off Route 31. A traffic study found there won’t be any significant impact, developer Dipak Patel said.
Commissioners expressed concerns about traffic flow with no direct access to the building.
Commissioner Scott Smith, who voted against the proposal, worried that access to the Altoff property from drivers northbound on Route 31 could create traffic issues.
“Since there is a striped turn lane going onto Tek Drive, I would encourage people to go that way to get to the site,” Smith said. “I’d hate for it to be a congestive issue.”
Potential high-volume traffic businesses such as fast food could create a lot of risk with cars going through the gas station in order to get to the property, Commissioner Jeff Greenman said.
“There’s going to be traffic, in my mind, dozens of cars all trying to go potentially in different directions with not a lot of options to get out,” he said, “especially if you want to go north onto [Route] 31.”
The traffic study already looked at the potential high-volume businesses at the property with the proposed access points and it all met the city’s standards, Crystal Lake City Planner Elizabeth Maxwell said.
“Just because it meets the standards doesn’t mean that it is safe,” Greenman said.
The City Council will vote on the matter Sept. 17.