Elgin's Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-0 to recommend a Ricky Rockets gas station and car wash along Route 20, sending the project to the City Council.
The commission's vote, reported by the Chicago Tribune, moves the project one step closer to construction, though City Council approval remains pending. The project now awaits City Council review.
A Site Previously Planned for Thorntons
The site has a history of gas-station proposals. The Elgin City Council previously approved annexation of the 8.3-acre property, and a Thorntons gas station was planned there but never built. In August 2024, the planned station was described as a $10 million project. The proposal also included a tentative city agreement for a local motor fuel tax rebate and $547,000 in intersection improvements.
A Ricky Rockets gas station and car wash is now proposed for the property.
Intersection Improvements Figure in Proposal
The proposal calls for intersection improvements, including high-visibility crosswalks.
The proposal includes an additional signal at the intersection. He also argued the car wash itself would not generate additional traffic, since its customers would already be on-site for gas or food. Updated traffic information cited in the project indicates about 60% of Ricky Rockets traffic would be diverted from cars already using the roadways rather than adding new trips.
Oak Ridge Neighbors Say They're Already Stuck
Residents of the adjacent Oak Ridge subdivision oppose the project as proposed. Jessica Astrug spoke at Monday's commission meeting on behalf of roughly 200 neighbors, telling commissioners that residents want the convenience-store expansion and car wash denied, though not the entire project outright.
Astrug said residents want the developer held to baseline zoning requirements rather than granted special exceptions, arguing that zoning exceptions should require a demonstrated hardship and shouldn't hand commercial entities extra profitability at taxpayers' expense. She described a subdivision with only two points of entry and exit and no backroads or alternative routes, meaning residents are funneled through what she called a bottleneck. Astrug also said cars and heavy trucks run red lights at the intersection on a weekly basis because they are traveling too fast to stop in time.
The Illinois Department of Transportation says Phase I engineering and environmental studies for broader Route 20 improvements near Elgin are complete. Anticipated work includes auxiliary lanes, bridge rehabilitation, additional intersection work and noise walls, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
With the Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation now in hand, the project heads to the full City Council for review of the developers' requests.
