Grayslake village board to vote on gas station plan opposed by resident group

The Grayslake village board is expected to vote Tuesday on a proposal opposed by hundreds of residents to build a gas station at the southwest corner of Lake Street and Belvidere Road, where a Lake Street Motors used car lot stands.

The project, submitted to the village in January, calls for construction of a Casey's General Store, which would have 14 fueling stations and a 4,540-square-foot convenience store that also would serve pizza and other foods. Casey's representatives intend to seek a liquor license for the store, village documents show.

The gas station proposal was reviewed by the village's plan commission last week. Five commissioners voted to recommend the plan. One voted not to recommend the plan and another did not vote.

The commission meeting featured many comments from residents opposing the plan, mostly from members of the resident group "Yes to Grayslake, No to Casey's Gas Station," which was created last month. The group's Facebook page has 345 likes and a recent video posted by group founder Mary Ann Scroggins responding to the plan commission's decision has gotten more than 2,000 views.

Scroggins has said the group believes the gas station would lower property values for residents, snarl traffic, take away money from nearby small businesses and prove detrimental to the environment, including the nearby lake.

Scroggins said Monday that many members of the group will log on for the village board's virtual meeting Tuesday night.

Additional opposition to the plan has come in the form of a complaint to the Illinois attorney general's office made by a separate group of residents. The complaint, a copy of which was sent to the Daily Herald, claims the village board violated the Open Meetings Act in an attempt to quell public opposition to a gas station proposal at a Jan. 18 meeting. The plan was not up for a vote at that meeting.

The attorney general's office did not return requests seeking comment on the status of the complaint Monday.

Associate Village Manager Chris Sparkman said the village has not received any contact from the Attorney General's office about an open meetings act violation.

The board will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday via Zoom.