Why church zoning is key in Naperville carpet store plan
Developers of a carpet and granite showroom planned for Route 59 in Naperville say they're working to address neighbors' concerns about commercialization along their unincorporated street.
But some residents say the use recommended for a church property that plays a key role in the plan is still not appropriate.
Naperville's planning and zoning commission last week unanimously approved a request to rezone half the World Missions Society Church of God property at 29W771 79th St. to commercial and half to residential upon annexation. If approved by the city council, the commercial half of the 4.7-acre site would be on the west, abutting Route 59, and the residential half would be on the east, along Aero Drive.
The potential change could help developers of Best Buy Carpet & Granite join their properties into the city, which could allow them to build their planned showroom.
Without the church site, the properties at 9S065, 9S080 and 9S081 South Route 59 are not contiguous to the city and cannot be annexed.
So the developers, who hope to build a 15,000-square-foot warehouse and storefront as well as a 2,600-square-foot store with a drive-through, are offering to share in the costs of annexing the church land and helping the congregation hook up to city water and sewer services, church office manager Chris Cha said.
In December, the planning and zoning commission approved a version of the proposal that called for the entire church site to be zoned as a community shopping center district. This drew the ire of neighbors, who said they fear the loss of property values and increased traffic.
"Don't contaminate residential streets with possible future commercial business," said Fred Foss, a resident of the unincorporated Aero Estates subdivision, which lies immediately east of the potential carpet store.
Attorney Kevin Carrara said his clients moved to change the zoning of the church land to allay the fears of Aero Estates residents such as Foss.
"We tried to keep it as simple as possible while maintaining the residential lots on Aero Drive," Carrara said. "We feel it's a good compromise in terms of the residential along Aero Estates, and we look forward to moving on with the process."
Several Aero Estates residents who spoke to the planning and zoning commission said they still have concerns.
Some pointed to the city's Southwest Community Plan, completed in 2002, which designates the area as multifamily residential - not commercial. Others questioned why commercial zoning would be applied to any part of a church's land, especially when the church has no plans to leave or change its use.
"We do not think this compromise is fantastic," Aero Estates resident Erika Selig said, speaking on behalf of 35 residents who signed a petition. "The church should not be zoned commercial because there is absolutely no commercial development plan in place ... A church property is consistent with residential zoning only."
But Erin Venard with the city's planning services team said the trend of development on Route 59 is commercial, making that type of zoning appropriate for the western part of the church site.
If the rezoning is approved, the church will be allowed to remain as a nonconforming use. The matter now will head to the council.
"Keeping the eastern half residential is certainly a step in the right direction," Carrie Hansen, the commission's vice chairwoman, said. "I believe this petition is a reasonable compromise."