St. Charles commission recommends Main Street gas station despite residents' concerns
It wasn't surprising to see another gas station proposed for the southeast corner of West Main Street and South 11th Street in St. Charles.
What nearby residents didn't expect was an apartment unit added to the second floor of the main building.
Despite the concerns expressed at Tuesday's St. Charles plan commission meeting, every commissioner in attendance except Laurel Moad voted to recommend approval of the plan for the location that's been the site of different gas stations since at least the 1930s, according to city records.
The plan still needs to get past a future planning and development committee meeting, where the city's aldermen will have their say.
"There are no other gas stations in St. Charles with a residential unit above it," said nearby resident Mike Foulkes. "You don't need a building that size. You don't need a residential unit above it."
If approved, the former Clark station would have three fuel pumps, a canopy above the pumps, four parking stalls and a 1,440-square-foot convenience store - more than three times larger than the current structure - with the one-bedroom apartment on the second floor.
Eric Carlson, representing ECA Architects and Planning, acknowledged it's quite a bit to place on a lot that's less than two-tenths of an acre in size. But he said it's the lot size that forced creativity with the plan.
The property owner, Mohammed Shahid Ali, and the designers made dramatic changes from the original plans submitted in October, including making the appearance of the structure conform better to the surrounding neighborhood.
"It's a hard site, and that's one of the challenges when you have a site that's darn near 100 years old," Carlson said. "Trying to redevelop it is a challenge.
"I don't think we have much ability to do a whole lot more improvements on it," he said. "It's better than it was. I can say that."
What didn't change from the original plans was the proposed second-floor apartment. Ali said it will be occupied by his son, who will be the primary operator of the facility.
Many nearby residents either spoke at the meeting or submitted letters complaining about the residential use of the property and the size of the structure in relation to the lot size.
"Being a mom of two kids under the age of 3, it worries me about who will reside in this location as well as how many individuals will be coming to this location because of the proposed gas station," nearby resident Lourdes Rosales wrote.