After initial delay, committee gives preliminary OK to new Rockford McDonald’s

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A City Council committee has given the preliminary OK for a McDonald’s to be built along Perryville Road after the developer addressed concerns over the location of a dumpster on the property.

The council’s Code and Regulation Committee had delayed a vote on the proposed McDonald’s at 1869 N. Perryville Road two weeks ago because members were concerned about dumpsters at the southwest corner of the plot at Rote and Perryville roads.

The developer has since revised the plan to move the dumpsters to the southeast corner near McFarland Road, said Alderman Mark Bonne, who is the chairman of the committee. The committee on Monday voted unanimously to move the proposal forward for a City Council vote next week.

“I want to them thank for being creative and having the ability to look at the layout of this particular lot to take that into consideration and actually be able to work out a plan that works for McDonald’s and works for the developer and just makes the property look better,” Alderman Kevin Frost said during the meeting.

Aldermen also added a condition to the proposal that the signage matches the larger Promenade sign.

The proposal for the dual-lane McDonald’s drive-thru was under scrutiny after residents pushed back against the plans at a public hearing last month. They argued it would cause traffic congestion and affect property values. They also noted that McDonald’s already had restaurants about 2 miles north on Riverside Boulevard and 2 miles south on East State Street.

This is the second recent proposal for a new McDonald’s in Rockford. Another at the northwest corner of State Street and Springfield Avenue on the city’s west side was approved on Oct. 6.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas