McDonald's to take another crack at sixth Naperville location
Naperville city council members aren't ready to give McDonald's a break today but they are going to give it another chance to propose plans for the southeast corner of Hillside Road and Washington Street.
McDonald's attorney Hank Stillwell asked council members Tuesday to allow the corporation to address some of concerns expressed by council members last month.
Council members unanimously killed a plan last month that included five zoning variances, three landscape variances and a sign variance.
Developers had hoped to demolish the Citgo gas station on the corner and construct a 3,599-square-foot fast-food restaurant that would be open 24-hours. But council members voted down the plan, saying the drive-through could pose a traffic and safety nightmare on Washington Street, and also could disrupt the nearby residential neighborhood.
The plans called for a right-in and right-out access on Washington and the opportunity to turn left or right when exiting onto Hillside Road. The proposed parking lot would have had 31 spaces instead of the required 61; of those, 11 would have been for employee parking.
“We realize that we have a serious burden to carry and we do not take that lightly. We recognize there are very serious concerns that resulted in a resounding message sent by this council on June 19,” Stillwell said. “We believe we have the ability to closely examine potential solutions and we would like the opportunity to have additional time to do that.”
Council members voted 7 to 2 Tuesday to allow McDonald's more time but warned the decision, in no way, means any of them are prepared to change their votes.
“It's not that I'm changing my vote because I think there are severe issues here with traffic and some other things that need to be overcome,” said Councilman Kenn Miller. “It's not because it's McDonald's although McDonald's is a good commercial citizen in the city. I will give anyone who has made an investment in Naperville the chance to do what they can.”
Councilman Doug Krause also noted the “long laundry list of things that need to be done.”
Some items on that laundry list were just too much for councilmen Bob Fieseler and Grant Wehrli.
“I think there are some deal breakers that came forward including the 24-hour drive- through so close to the neighborhood and the lack of spillover parking,” Fieseler said. “I think its dead from the starting blocks. I can't imagine and I don't know what we're doing here.”
The issue will be back before the city council in late August.