Westgate Townhome Owners Voice Concerns Over Meineke Car Care Center

Residents of the Westagate Townhomes to a Palos Heights City Council meeting to voice their concerns over the soon to be relocated , 13400-10 S. Ridgeland Ave.

The repair shop will soon open its doors at a new location and nearby residents are growing increasingly nervous about noise and pollution issues.

“I am extremely disappointed that you did not get feedback from the people who would be most affected,” said Janet Widing, whose home overlooks the shop.

The business was granted a special use permit with a unanimous vote on May 3 when the council voted to instruct the city attorney to write the ordinance and waived the rules to approve the same night.

The move occurred before Ald. Jeff Key in the 1st Ward, which encompasses the Westgate developments.

At Tuesday’s meeting Key questioned city attorney Tom Brown about the process in which Meineke was deemed an appropriate addition to the area. Key also expressed his displeasure over the four weeks it took Brown to reply to a letter sent by Ron Smith, president of the Westgate Homeowners Association.

“I am disturbed that it took four weeks to do a legal review,” Key said.

Brown maintained that the process of approval for Meineke’s permit, “is a legislative one, not a legal one.” He said that he reviewed the legislative steps taken and Westgate’s annexation agreement before determining that everything was done in accordance with legal requirements.

The permit passed through the Plan Commission, the Planning and Zoning Committee and the City Council without a dissenting vote. At no time did anyone show up to testify or offer an opinion about the proposed move.

Townhome residents argue that the process was completed without proper notification of residents and complained that a sign placed on the site was not noticed by anyone in the area.

“I haven’t found one person in Westgate that has seen the sign,” Smith told the council.

Timeline

March – Meinike Car Care Center, which will vacate its current location to make way for the Jewel expansion project, requests a permitted special use to move to 13400 S. Ridgeland Ave.

March 31 – An ad ran in The Regional News announcing an upcoming Plan Commission meeting to consider the petition.

April 18 – The Plan Commission votes to approve 6-0.

April 19 – The motion is removed from the City Council agenda so further discussion can be had.

April 26 – Planning and Zoning Committee approves, 3-0

May 3 – City Council approves an ordinance to be drafted, and waives the rules and approves of the permitted special use.

While the city is firm in its legal opinion, residents are still weary about the potential impact the repair shop will have on home values and quality of life.

"It's not even 100 feet [away]," Widing said. "Would you want to sit on your balcony listening to that, smelling those fumes?"

Ald. Jeff Prestinario also represents the 1st Ward and has received 13 e-mails from residents concerend about the repair shop. Prestinario reiterated that the shop will keep its single garage door closed while working on cars, use electronic lifts, will not work on cars in the parking lot and will keep its compressor in an insulated closet.

It is estimated that about 15 to 20 cars will be serviced each day.

Attached to this article is a PDF of the minutes from the Planning and Zoning committee meeting in which the issue was discussed.