Referendum likely over gas stations

Posted: Feb. 8, 2012

Village of Summit - The divisive issue of whether or not to allow gas stations and convenience stores in the Village of Summit may be headed to a referendum if Village President Jack Riley has his way.

The same issue touched off a petition drive last summer when the Village Board considered allowing the establishments in a commercial corridor of the village under the new master plan. But after more than 100 people turned out at a July meeting and organizers produced more than 500 signatures opposing gas stations and convenience stores, the board relented and ultimately removed language in the master plan that would have allowed them to set up shop within the village limits.

Despite the board's vote to remove them from the master plan, Riley hopes to get a feel for where the rest of the village stands by calling for a referendum.

"The way I look at it right now, we had 500 or so signatures come forward opposing gas stations, and that's a lot. It's not a majority, but it's a lot, and I think our board, the members of the board who voted against gas stations, took that into consideration as more of a referendum already," he said on Tuesday. "I think it's more of a mini referendum, and if we have a feeling that the majority of the people are actually against them, then let's actually get their voice and see if it's true or not."

He added, "There's a very vocal minority that circulated those petitions and got signatures. It's not by any means a majority of the people in Summit."

Asked why the board would go to referendum after already voting on the issue, Riley said, "It would either validate or invalidate the results of the 500 signatures. If the referendum comes back and it says the majority of the village is against gas stations then I'm sure the people that voted against gas stations would maintain that vote. If it comes back, however, that the majority is in favor of having gas stations in the village, then those people who voted against it may switch and decide that they want to allow them."

The board took no formal action to establish a referendum during the Feb. 2 meeting, but it asked staff to prepare background information on the referendum process as well as available referendum dates. Any referendum would more than likely be advisory in nature, rather than binding. They will discuss the issue again at the March 1 meeting.

Though there are no specific gas station or convenience store development plans in the works yet, Riley feels that the issue is important enough to warrant a referendum question.

"I think development is definitely an important goal of the village, because it's going to maintain our low tax rate. We've got land already designated for development, and really the delays are not helping us any," he said. "I see a gas station or a convenience store as being a good fit for a number of areas in the village. And I think they would help spur further development. I think if the design is done right, and the architecture is there, I think a gas station could be a very good addition to the community."

Residents turned out in force in July hoping to preserve Summit's "rural character." Others expressed reservations over allowing gas stations and convenience stores, citing fears that they would create what they deemed, transient stop-over points for interstate highway travelers. Their opposition resulted in the board sending, what looked to be sure approval of Summit's 2020 Master Plan, back to the plan commission, which eventually removed the provisions that would have allowed for gas stations in the village.