The Rundown: Palos Hills City Council Denies Daycare

Daycare Denied: A proposed daycare at 11020 S. Roberts Road did not receive City Council approval, despite the Plan Commission's unanimous approval. Council members discussed the issue at committee meeting and agreed that despite the commission's ruling, the minutes from the meeting seemed to pose more questions than answers.

Of particular concern was a lack of parking, traffic, complaints by nearby residents and an ingress/egress issue and ownership of some nearby property.

The council voted 9 - 1 to approve a motion denying the Plan Commission's recommendation to allow a special use permit.

“Safety is my concern,” said Ald. Bill Hanson (3rd Ward). “I do not think this is the best location for a daycare center.”

The prospective daycare owner, Roman Halon, addressed the council and said that he felt proper parking could be added to the location and he liked the outdoor space it offered.

He said he would seek a better location for his business, “but certainly not in Palos Hills.”

Ald. Mark Brachman (2nd Ward) was the only alderman to vote against the motion, favoring tabling the issue to allow the owner to address some of the council's concerns.

Ald. A.J. Pasek (3rd Ward) said that tabling the issue would likely just cost the business owner more money as it seemed the council did not think the property could be made suitable.

The property's seller, John Georgis, is also Halon's attorney and said he was upset and confused by the council's decision.

“I'm confused how a [city] zoning board can unanimously approve something and then a [city council] can arbitrarily reject it by finding the commission did not do something properly,” he said, referring mostly to a discussion the council had about whether or not the petitioner received the proper checklist for applying for a special use, and if it included supplying a parking plan.

Mayor Gerald Bennett said that regardless of what checklist they received, a parking plan should always be submitted when petitioning for a special use permit.

“The village has always been fair – we had a fire there once and the village bent over backwards to help us – I'm just really confused about what happened tonight,” Georgis said.

The building currently houses a real estate office, which will move in 7 days.

H-1 Liquor License Increase: The owner of Pantry Plus, 103rd and Roberts Road, petitioned the Palos Hills City Council for an H-1 liquor license, which would allow the store to sell packed liquor until 2 a.m.

The fact that similar stores located in neighboring suburbs are able to stay open later, led to the petition. The store primarily sells liquor and cigarettes, but also has some snack food and other items.

The council voted 9 to 1 to approve a motion to draft an ordinance that would increase the number of H-1 liquor licenses in the city.

Ald. Marty Kleefisch (1st Ward) was the only dissenting vote.

Alderman will vote again to approve the ordinance at the next council meeting in two weeks.