Politics & Government

Zoning Board to Hear Pollution Claim on Butterfield Gas Station

The matter has been returned to the DuPage County Zoning Board of Appeals to investigate any potential health issues related to the proposed station.

The matter of the proposed 1.5-acre Mobil gas station, car wash and Bucky's convenience store in unincorporated Glen Ellyn at the northeast corner of Route 53 and Butterfield Road, has been returned to the DuPage County Zoning Board of Appeals to review claims made by proposal opponents that the station would have a detrimental health effect on the community, the Daily Herald reports

According to the Suburban Life, the DuPage County Board's Development Committee voted Sunday to send the proposal back to Zoning after Butterfield Park District officials complained that the proximity of the complex to Park District facilities would threaten the health of children and other residents.

"That (development) is being built next to three preschools and a heavily used park district outdoor facility," the Herald quoted Park District attorney Phil Luetkehans saying. "The amount of idling cars on the property would cause benzene emissions that could prove dangerous to the children.”

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However, the Suburban Life said, it will be on the Park District to prove their claims to the Zoning Board.

"(Park district officials) have framed the issue as benzene emissions that would adversely affect the children and senior citizens just by being on the site, and so the burden on them is to prove that to be true for this site," the paper quoted said committee member Gary Grasso saying.

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And lawyers for Buchanan Energy, who are petitioning for the permit, say there’s no case. 

"There's no empirical data," the Herald quoted Buchanan attorney Henry Stillwell saying. "There are no qualified reports or expert testimony supporting anything with respect to benzene." 

The proposed new complex on the 1.5-acre site would contain a 10-pump gas station, a convenience store and a car wash, the Herald said.

Read more at the Daily Herald and the Suburban Life websites.


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