Trustees Reverse Course in Approving Walgreens Store

It was a victory that came late, but a victory nonetheless for Walgreens.

On Monday night, the drugstore giant received approval from the village's board of trustees to construct a new store at the southeast corner of Dempster Street and Crawford Avenue.

The decision came after trustees rejected a similar plan in January. However, Walgreens got another chance when a modified plan was approved by village staff and the Planning Commission.

The revised proposal eased the concerns of Mayor George Van Dusen and trustees Donald Perille, Edie Sutker and Michael Lorge, all of whom had voted against the first plan. Colleagues Randall Roberts and Pramod Shah continued their support for the plan, while Michele Bromberg remained opposed to it.

That voting pattern remained constant for the four parts of the five part proposal; however Perille and Sutker joined Bromberg in voting against the special use permit for the drive-through.

Among the changes was the removal of an exit from the drive-through onto Harding Avenue.  Also, a right turn onto Harding is now prohibited and there will be additional signs and curbing to discourage people from making an illegal turn.

The drugstore giant will also team up the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to increase the striping markers on Dempster and making changes in the traffic light cycle to allow more time for left turns by motorists. Another part of the construction is the razing of a house, now part of the site, for a 22 feet alley that will be used for people leaving the drive-through.

“They addressed the concerns I had by working with IDOT and getting an extended left turn bay onto Crawford that will store three to four extra cars,” Perille said.

Perillie acknowledged the residents on Harding had some legitimate concerns. He said he did not think the drive-through was necessary but was satisfied with the "big change" that would turn motorists away from using Harding.

Bromberg remained steadfast in her opposition after the meeting.

“I just felt for that particular location that it was just not suited,” she said. “I just felt it [the store] would have been better in another location.”

Among those disappointed with the decision were Jacob and Maritza Monahemi who own the building where a Walgreens store has been for the past 25 years. The lease on that store at Dempster and Karlov Avenue expires in November 2014, and Walgreens must give notice a year before that time whether it plans to vacate the site.

Walgreens has already notified the Monahemis that it plans to vacate that store once the new 13,125 square feet, a single-story building is completed.

“We have done work on the parking lot, so we have done a lot of things to accommodate Walgreens," said their attorney, Berton Ring. "The village of Skokie is not really benefiting from this as there will still be an empty spot.”

The debate Monday night about the store went on for nearly two hours, with residents providing their input.

“The neighborhood shouldn’t have to suffer for the corporate prestige of a Deerfield-based corporation,” said resident Irv Funk.

But another resident, Seymour Schwartz, countered, saying, “Anybody that lives near a busy, commercial street knows what they are getting into.”

Now that the village board has passed the proposal, an ordinance will need to be written and drafted approving the zoning changes. That could come before the village board as early as May.

The story has been updated to reflect the owners of the Pita Inn do not own the property where the Walgreen's will be constructed.  Patch regrets the error.