Plan Commission recommends approval for Kwik Trip redevelopment of former Crest Hill City Hall site

The Crest Hill Plan Commission voted unanimously Feb. 12 to recommend that City Council approve Kwik Trip’s plan to redevelop the former City Hall site at 1618 Plainfield Road into a convenience store and gas station, subject to five staff conditions.

QuikTrip’s project manager, Ollie Beacrest, presented a plan that would subdivide the existing 4.9‑acre parcel into three lots: a retail/gas site, a stormwater detention lot and an outlot for future development. The application requests variations from the Crest Hill zoning ordinance for driveway widths (plans referenced a 47‑foot full‑access driveway and a new 95‑foot right‑in/right‑out driveway as measured under ordinance definitions) and from the sign code to permit a multi‑tenant off‑premises monument sign, additional wall signs and signage on a fuel canopy.

City staff said the property is already commercially zoned and that the driveway and signage variations are consistent with prior approvals for similar gas‑station developments. Staff noted the state and Will County have reviewed relevant driveway and turning movements and that design standards were followed. The developer said the Romeoville Kwik Trip site uses the same lighting fixtures and that a photometric plan submitted to the city limits light spill onto adjacent properties.

Nearby residents raised questions about whether tanker or delivery trucks would use the smaller access points and whether the new driveways would create a new cut‑through route from Plainfield Road onto Napa/Knapp and into adjacent neighborhoods. Connie Jarrus and other residents said the neighborhood contains a high proportion of seniors and asked whether the city had considered alternative buyers for the property. City staff responded that the city had marketed the site for years, received interest from other commercial users and that council sought a suitable commercial use; staff also described traffic‑calming steps approved under a local NAP study (four‑way stop, barrier median on Theodore) and said public safety and PD monitoring would be part of post‑installation evaluation.

The Plan Commission voted to forward a unanimous recommendation to City Council, subject to five conditions discussed in the staff report. Staff said it will evaluate the effects of the new access and local traffic controls one year after installation and again one year after Kwik Trip opens. The City Council will review the case at a Feb. 23 workshop and on March 2.