Despite concerns and negative recommendation, Hoffman Estates approves gas station for Mariano's
Hoffman Estates elected officials have approved a gas station as an outlot of the Mariano's grocery store in the Hoffman Village Shopping Center at Golf and Barrington roads.
The village board's unanimous approval overrides the negative recommendation the proposal received from the town's planning and zoning commission and went against the concerns of two neighboring businesses and a nearby competitor.
Among their concerns was the loss of 89 spaces in the shopping center's parking lot and the traffic impact of delivery trucks.
But the village staff attested that the parking lot could handle the expected changes, and the owners of the shopping center supported the request of Mariano's.
Thomas Meyers, representing the ownership of the center, conceded that the gas station would add traffic but said that is not a bad thing.
"I don't think I need to tell anyone here it's been a tough year for retail," Meyers said. "We need more traffic into the center, quite frankly."
Representatives of the Subway and Dunkin' Donuts in the shopping center argued that the loss of parking in front of the Mariano's would cause more grocery shoppers to take the spaces in front of their businesses at the east end of the lot. Meyers maintained that the presence of a grocery store and the shoppers it attracts is typically the reason other tenants want to be near it.
Rick Heidner, owner of the two Ricky Rockets Fuel Centers in Hoffman Estates, said he didn't expect the village board to protect him from competition but argued that the Mariano's gas station would do more harm than good to the local economy.
"I consider this very much a predatory move," Heidner said. "It doesn't work anyway, and you're going to harm all these other business owners."
Addressing the planning and zoning commission's chief concern, Trustee Karen Mills added a condition to the approval that Mariano's would work out a delivery plan with village staff, if the presence of fuel trucks caused traffic flow issues in the lot.
Trustee Michael Gaeta said the area needs more competition to bring down the fuel costs he believes are driving Hoffman Estates residents out of the village to buy gas.
"Yes, it's going to help the other stores that are at that shopping center," Gaeta added.