Despite objections from some neighbors and a negative recommendation by the city’s planning and zoning commissioners, the Elgin City Council has approved a plan for a new 7 Brew drive-thru coffee shop on the city’s east side.
The fast-growing coffee chain wants to build at the southwest corner of Summit Street and North Shady Oaks Drive at 1039-1047 Summit St.
The 1-acre vacant property is zoned residential but designated for commercial development in Elgin’s comprehensive plan. The planning and zoning commission recommended denying the project in a 4-3 vote on Oct. 5.
The chain has more than 900 locations nationwide and more than a dozen built or planned in the suburbs, including Algonquin, Carpentersville, Huntley and Naperville. A location is under construction in St. Charles.
The Elgin property doesn’t have access to Summit Street, so 7 Brew’s entrance and exit will be on North Shady Oaks Drive. There are seven single-family homes on the street.
Nearby residents have expressed concerns about traffic at recent council meetings. On Wednesday, they submitted a petition opposing the plan.
Other 7 Brew locations have seen long lines during grand openings or special giveaway days. The new location would have enough space to queue 38 cars on the property without spilling onto the street.
Elgin Community Development Director Marc Mylott tried to allay residents’ concerns.
“As more and more 7 Brews open, the demand at each location is less and less,” Mylott said.
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Christopher George of the franchise group Who Brew LLC, which is opening the coffee shop, said they’ll hire local police or a third-party traffic control company when necessary.
“We are willing to be good neighbors to all the neighbors on the street (and) actually turn away business if cars back up to Shady Oaks,” George said.
He said they “really like this location” because of its proximity to a shopping center across the street, its corner location and the traffic on Summit Street, adding that he thought it would “spur growth in this area.”
“We view Elgin as a multisite market,” he said. “We definitely wanted to service the east side.”
Many council members said they were sensitive to the neighbors’ concerns. But they ultimately seemed satisfied with the results of traffic studies by the city and the franchisee, which said the impact would be manageable.
The vote passed 8-1, with only council member Dustin Good voting against.
Council member Tish Powell said the east side has long lacked dining and drinking options compared to what’s available on the west side of town.
“I’m really excited to see the increased economic development in this area, because I think it will spur more development,” she said.