GLEN CARBON - The Glen Carbon Village Board of Trustees voted unanimously to move forward on a proposed plastic surgery center after concerns were raised about the effect the center would have on local traffic, property values, and more.
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During the public comment portion of the meeting, one resident of the area voiced concern about the dumpster location, light pollution, diminished property values, and traffic issues.
“A concern I have - one of them - is the dumpster location. Make sure that the dumpster’s not located right adjacent to somebody’s property, where you get bugs and animals and stuff like that, to seal it and make sure it’s not going to be a problem,” the resident said. “Second … would be the light infiltration, so someone sitting in their backyard, they’re not getting lit up at night from the property next door.
“And then the third thing for them is the visual barrier. I would not want to sit in my backyard and look at the back of a building. That, they don’t have now, so that I think would decrease the value of their property if they choose to sell.”
The resident also expressed concern about water drainage solutions and roadway infrastructure improvements, particularly on Edwards Drive, part of which they described as a “very dangerous one-way hill.” Justin Venvertloh with design engineering firm Thouvenot, Wade & Moerchen (TWM) provided further clarification on these issues and more about the project during the meeting.
Venvertloh said the landscaping plan is being finalized to include a “visual buffer” of evergreen trees between the surgery center and the residential properties near it to mitigate the “light infiltration” the resident mentioned earlier in the meeting. He said they’ve also reached an agreement with the village to make Edwards Drive a two-lane roadway with a curb, gutter, and enclosed storm sewer system.
The permanent dumpster location for the center will be located in the northwest corner of the site and will include an enclosure constructed around it per village code, Venvertloh said. Public Works Director Scott Slemer added that there will also be a sidewalk constructed as part of the Edwards Drive improvements.
The proposed Mid-America Plastic Surgery center is set to be built as a two-story office building on four land parcels located at 4297 S. State Route 159 in Glen Carbon. Two of the parcels needed to be annexed into the village, and the Village Board voted unanimously to approve that annexation. The land also needed to be rezoned from “Single-Family Residential” to “General Commercial,” and the Village Board voted unanimously to approve that rezoning classification as well.
Village Administrator Jamie Bowden added that TWM still needs to finalize the site plan, including the light barrier and dumpster enclosure, to be submitted for final approval by the Village Board. An official timeline for construction will be unavailable until that process is completed. Construction on this project is being overseen by Plocher Construction Company.
A full recording of the June 27 meeting can be watched at the top of this story or on the Village of Glen Carbon Facebook page.
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