VILLAGE OF NORTH AURORA
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING MINUTES
Monday, December 2, 2024
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Gaffino called the meeting to order.
ROLL CALL
In attendance: Mayor Mark Gaffino, Trustee Jason Christiansen, Trustee Laura Curtis, Trustee Mark Guethle, Trustee Mike Lowery, Trustee Todd Niedzwiedz, Trustee Carolyn Salazar
Staff in attendance: Village Administrator Steve Bosco, Finance Director Jason Paprocki, Community Development Director Nathan Darga, Village Attorney Kevin Drendel, Police Chief Joe DeLeo.
AUDIENCE COMMENTS – None
TRUSTEE COMMENTS – None
DISCUSSION
- Petition #24-13: Gas N Wash Planned Unit Development
Administrator Bosco reminded the Village Board that this agenda item had gone before the Committee of the Whole as well as the Plan Commission as a concept review in the past. The item had now returned before the Board for review of Plan Commission comments, to ask any questions and to decide whether to move the development forward for approval.
Director Darga stated that the Gas N Wash was looking to go in at the corner of Airport Road and Route 31 on the Asbury property. This property had been vacant for several decades and was zoned B2. Gas N Wash was proposing to purchase the whole 4.7 acre property and improve it with a gas station that would also have a convenience store, two quick service restaurants, a long tunnel car wash with vacuum cleaners, seven island gas pumps, as well as two separate diesel islands. The location would have a drive through window for one of the two quick service restaurants. The building would be a little over 8,000 square feet and would include both of those restaurants, the convenience store, and video gaming.
Darga explained that the Village Code, for the project which was a car wash and a gas station, would require 19 parking spaces, however the applicant was proposing 71. The developer had submitted a traffic study, IDOT would be requiring improvements to Route 31. They require the installation of left and right turn lanes for the location’s access points. The site had an existing access point in the middle, the developer would be adding a “right in, right out” all of the way to the south. There was also an access point off of Airport Road. The traffic pulling through the diesel island was one way, there were no trucks allowed in front, truck and car traffic were to be kept separate.
Darga mentioned the landscape plan with a focus on the landscaping between the development and Asbury Gardens. Asbury Gardens, which is situated directly to the west of the development, the northernmost Asbury building had windows facing the new development, while the building to the south of that did not have windows on the side facing the proposed development. Darga explained that the heavier landscaping was to be between the northernmost building and the development.
Darga stated that this item was being approved as a PUD because it was greater than two acres. He explained that many of the code exceptions were for setbacks. Because of the road improvements there would be an IDOT dedication. The existing parking lot was paved all the way up to the right of way line, so there was currently no setback on the property, with IDOT pushing everything back there will be a setback. The North Aurora code calls for a 50 foot landscape buffer along Route 31, however the Village typically ends up varying projects along Route 31 because there is not enough space on lots along Route 31 to have 50 foot setbacks.
Darga spoke about the list of exemptions that were included in the meeting packet, which included setbacks, exemptions for the number of signs, as well as several general conditions.
Darga presented the renderings for the development, stating that elevations were very nice and met the Village’s design guidelines.
Chris Kalischefski, the project architect with the WT Group was on hand to answer questions. He spoke about the requested variances. Kalischefski addressed the setback exemption and then spoke about the signage. He stated that there would be five businesses on the site, the two food vendors, the convenience stone, the car wash, and the fueling component. The developer would like signage, in an appropriate size, to accommodate each business.
Trustee Guethle asked what restaurants would be going in. Kalischefski stated that typically there would be a donut and coffee offering as well as a second restaurant that would be determined with the desire of the community in mind.
Trustee Salazar asked what the size of the landscaping would be along the side facing Asbury Gardens. Kalischefski stated that they would be meeting the requirements in terms of the diameter and density of the trees. They would be adding 93 trees and choosing trees with a fast grow rate. Kalischefski stated that there would be 69 shade trees, 9 evergreens, and 15 ornamentals along with 166 evergreen shrubs.
Trustee Salazar expressed concerns, stating that the Asbury Gardens buildings were very close to the lot lines and this may be disruptive to the elderly people living there. She expressed that the landscaping, due to the time it takes for the plantings to mature, may not be enough.
Trustee Salazar also expressed concerns about the video gaming aspect of the site.
Mayor Gaffino stated that he would prefer to see more conifers along the side of the property adjacent to Asbury Gardens.
Administrator Bosco added that the Village subdivision requirements for shade trees were two and a half inch caliper, and evergreens along with ornamentals have to be at least six feet tall.
There was additional discussion regarding the landscaping and comparisons were made to the project on Mitchell Road that had recently been discussed with the Committee of the Whole.
Trustee Curtis stated that she was glad that there was something going in on a property that had been vacant for so long, however she echoed Trustee Salazar’s comparison to the issues that had arisen with the Mitchell Road development.
Mr. Kalischefski spoke about the design steps that they had taken to mitigate the truck traffic and noise to the site.
Trustee Guethle stated that he visits other locations and enjoys the experience.
Trustee Niedzwiedz agreed with the idea that more landscaping should be implemented, foliage that would last throughout the winter. He also agreed with Trustee Guethle, stating that the other location on Jericho was very nice.
Trustee Christiansen agreed with previous comments and expressed dislike for the video gaming.
Trustee Lowery stated that he was in favor of the development but expressed concerns about northbound Route 31 traffic turning left into the gas station causing congestion issues. Mr. Kalischefski stated that there would be a left turn lane created on Route 31 in the northbound lanes.
There was discussion about IDOT’s plans to repave Route 31 in 2025.
Administrator Bosco stated that this would be the time to discuss fencing, should the Board feel it is appropriate. The discussion circled back to landscaping along the west side of the property. Trustee Niedzwiedz suggested creating a berm along that side of the property. The developer agreed to look further into that idea.
- Cloudpermit Permitting Software
Administrator Bosco stated that the Village has had a system in place for permits for many years. The Village was seeking to be more user friendly for both internal use and for residents during the building permit process.
Director Darga explained that the goal to be able to have online permit submittals had been part of the strategic plan for a while. Currently, a resident could go to the website and download a PDF to print out, this could then be emailed or walked in to the Village. The goal was to be able to do all steps of the process online and the current software was not capable of that. Darga stated that David and Morgan of the Community Development department put together a matrix and assembled information to compare software offerings. They compared City View, Cloudpermit, Civic Review, Smart Gov, and Open Gov. The options were narrowed down to Cloudpermit and Open Gov, Cloudpermit was $18,400 for the first year while Open Gov was $77,000. City View, the Village’s current software provider was charging $94,000 to upgrade the product the Village was currently utilizing. Staff recommended contracting with Cloudpermit.
Trustee Salazar asked if people could still come in to apply for permits, her concern was for those that are not technologically savvy. Darga replied that they could.
Administrator Bosco stated that the intention was never to eliminate the face to face interaction.
Bosco went on to briefly mention credit card processing fees and that the Village may have to rethink the approach of absorbing the fees.
EXECUTIVE SESSION – None
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn made by Trustee Guethle and seconded by Trustee Curtis. All in favor. Motion approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jessi Watkins
Village Clerk
