Lake County Gazette

An ordinance for a new business in Beach Park failed to pass – to the delight of community members.

“At the last meeting, the petitioners made a very informative description of their plans and intentions,” Mayor John Hucker said in a YouTube video of the June 23 meeting of the Village of Beach Park Board. “And at that meeting, if you'll recall, we had a little bit of turmoil because things changed. In some cases significantly, in some cases in a minor sense.” 

The ordinance would have temporarily allowed the Club Apaseo El Alto to use a building in the Sheridan road neighborhood as a community center and caretakers residence. The proposal had been previously tabled by the board and came back without a recommendation from the zoning and planning committee.

Many residents attended a meeting to make public comments about their opposition to the ordinance. They cited increased traffic, noise, and chaos in their neighborhood, as well as their belief in the lack of necessity for such a project in their village and the lack of benefit it would bring to the community.

The board took a vote on it and would have needed a super majority, or five votes in favor, in order to pass the motion. There were two votes in favor and three opposing, meaning the motion failed to pass. This was in line with the planning commission’s lack of recommendation for passing the ordinance.