How much traffic will St. Charles Centre create?

Traffic for the proposed St. Charles Towne Centre would be less than that generated by the most intense use that could be built there under current zoning - a 636,000 square foot, two-story shopping center.

But Tuesday, during a St. Charles Plan Commission hearing on the proposal, mayoral candidate Jotham Stein questioned whether that was a good comparison, considering there are few two-story retail outlets nearby. Shopping centers to the south, west and north all feature one-story buildings, such as the new Costco, the Jewel-Osco and the Harley-Davidson dealership.

If only a one-story shopping center were built, it would generate less traffic than the mixed-use Towne Centre, according to Stein and the traffic consultant hired by the city.

Traffic was the main theme of the continued hearing on the project, proposed for the site of the old St. Charles Mall on Route 38 west of 14th Street.

The 70 or so audience members also learned the St. Charles Park District has worked out its objections to some of the park and recreational uses proposed in the development, and that the developer is dropping its request to base its school impact fees on actual enrollment generated by the buildings. Instead, it will use the formula contained in the city's zoning code. The developer had contended that the housing proposed would attract single people and empty-nester couples that would not send many children into the schools.

The hearing was continued to a date that was not available as of deadline.

The city's traffic study is waiting on input from the Illinois Department of Transportation before being declared complete, and the commission also wants to question the consultants the developer used to determine the economic viability of the project.

Preliminarily, the consultant recommends that traffic signals be added on Prairie Street at Third and Seventh streets, whether the development is built or not. They would just be needed sooner if the Centre is built.

Shodeen is proposing to build nearly 700 condominiums, plus stores, offices, restaurants and health club on the site.

Traffic: Study still waiting on IDOT input