By Jenny Quill

The focus of Monday night’s Lake Bluff Board of Trustees meeting was squarely centered on Target, as the Village Board unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance that, once it passes its second reading, will give Target the right to apply for the building permits to begin work; approves Target’s actual development plan, a subdivision; and terminates the original special use permit for Shepherd Chevrolet.

While Target is not yet a done deal, the Board of Trustees’ approval of the first reading is strong evidence that the ordinance will pass its second reading.

“It’s rare for the Board to vote on first approval and not on the second reading,” said Village Administrator Drew Irvin. “It’s a good indicator.”

The Board of Trustees will hear a second reading of the ordinance at the next Board meeting on Mon., June 24, 7 p.m. GazeboNews will post the meeting agenda once it becomes available.

According to Irvin, the 24th will be the first chance for Target to say they could secure all Village approvals to move forward with the project.

Joe Kaltsas, a representative from Kimley-Horn and Associates, Target’s civil-engineering consultant, opened the proceedings with a nearly hour-long presentation recapping the development plan. Items highlighted during the report included the addition of various architectural “enhancements,” such as clear windows looking into the sales floor, a first for any Target store, and the use of natural materials on the building exterior. Other buzzwords bandied about during the presentation: “increased green space,” “greater bike and pedestrian connectivity,” and “sustainability,” as Target touted its plan to seek silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

You can view all of the plans, including landscape and plaza designs and building elevations here.

A significant amount of time was also spent addressing traffic concerns and road improvements. The proposed improvements are numerous, and include modifications at Shagbark Rd., the Shagbark Rd./Rte. 176 intersection, Waukegan Rd./Rte. 176 intersection and Waukegan Rd./Carriage Way. To view the full list of proposed improvements, click here.

One of the questions raised by Trustee John Josephitis addressed a specific road improvement—the construction of a proposed right-turn lane on westbound Rte. 176 at the Waukegan Rd. intersection—but touched on a bigger issue. Namely, that the majority of these proposed changes will require the necessary approvals from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) as much of it is IDOT right of way. Peter Lemmon, an engineer with TADI, a traffic consultant company, noted that it was early on in the process and they had not yet received final comments back from IDOT, though they had received preliminary feedback.

Trustee Eric Grenier, the only other Board member to ask questions, wondered if traffic congestion would increase where Carriage Park Ave. and Albrecht Dr. intersect with Waukegan Rd. According to Lemmon, it’s possible that those looking to head south on Waukegan may experience delays.

“On their own, we wouldn’t have enough traffic at Carriage Way or Albrecht to warrant a traffic study,” said Lemmon. “The only way you could probably warrant a traffic study is if you were to close one of them off and consolidate them to one or the other. And that wasn’t really an advisable situation, either. So we don’t have enough traffic to support a traffic signal, but you are going to, at times, experience delays when you want to make a left turn to go south on Waukegan.”

The sole resident to address the group was Katherine Briand, who expressed concern about the traffic study not including the portion of 176 that stretches from Rte. 41 east to Green Bay Road.

“The traffic study does not include the portion of 176 that will mostly affect those of us who live in Lake Bluff,” said Briand. “This has come up repeatedly in Plan Commission meetings, and Target’s response was that because IDOT didn’t require it, we didn’t do it. That’s a convenient answer, but the citizens of Lake Bluff would like to know what the impact is going to be on the intersection. Our most valuable assets cross through that intersection every day. Not just to go to school, but to go to the pool. I feel it’s certainly incumbent upon Target to study this.”

Ultimately, Briand implored the Board to take its time in further considering the development.

“[Target] is a game-changer in a big way,” said Briand. “Once it’s done, we can never go back. Not every decision has just positive ramifications. It’s impossible. I’m asking you to slow down and consider that, yes, we need the sales tax revenue, but before we haul off and do this … we need to think about what we’re doing.”

Each Trustee then gave a summary statement, with the majority applauding the collaborative efforts of the Village staff, Plan Commission, Architectural Board of Review, and Target.

Board President Katherine O’Hara stated that Target fits in with the Village’s long-range plan, and that the project has gone through all of the Village’s required processes.

In addressing Briand’s concern about the traffic impact at Rte. 176/Green Bay Road, O’Hara noted that, next year, the School Board will offer free buses for all students, which could substantially reduce traffic.

“After a lot of consideration, the school board next year will be offering free buses to all of the students that go K through 5,” said O’Hara. “I think it will have a substantial effect on morning and afternoon traffic if our parents will put their kids on the bus. Target is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Their traffic will be on a regular basis, it’s not going to be heavily concentrated at the beginning or end of school.”

“This is a project that I strongly feel Lake Bluff needs. We need to be financially stable,” said O’Hara. “We have to find other ways of finding revenue … and keep us very financially viable and economically robust. We feel very strongly that this is a good project for Lake Bluff.”