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North Aurora annexes former orchard, OKs business and multifamily zoning

The North Aurora village board Monday agreed to annex 41 acres on its west side and allow a developer flexibility to use all of the property for businesses or some of it for multifamily residences such as rental apartments.

Trustees Chris Faber and Vince Mancini voted against the annexation agreement.

Because annexation agreements require approval from two-thirds of a village board, Village President Dale Berman voted, in favor.

Mancini and Faber then voted against annexing the site, and against a planned unit development agreement. The site is generally north of Orchard Road and east of Deerpath Road.

Deerpath Road resident Lisa Quigley pleaded during the public-comment portion at the start of the meeting for the board to postpone action on the plan.

“Let's wait until they have something (definite) in mind,” she said.

Quigley also argued against allowing apartments on the land, and criticized plans to connect Orchard Road to Deerpath Road in the development.

The connector road, however, was approved by the village and Kane County in an amendment in August 2011 to a 2004 agreement for improvements to Orchard between Randall Road and I-88.

The board did agree to eliminate automobile dealerships from the list of permitted uses for the site, and to restrict automotive uses such as repair shops to the southernmost business-zoned area of the property, per requests from Mancini.

The latter did not please Quigley, who tried to tell the board that she would hear noises from such shops as they would be in front of her house. She disagreed with the developer's statement that they were not in front of her house and repeatedly tried to tell the board that before the allotted time for public comment had passed.

“This is a discussion from the board and the potential developer, not for your public comments,” Berman said, telling her to stop interrupting.

The village's comprehensive land-use plan had designated the area for single-family estate residences, with minimum lot sizes of 14,000 square feet.

The vote Monday doesn't give the developer permission to start building. The village reserves the right to review specific plans, including an architectural review.

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