Opposition growing for self-storage near Naperville
A proposed storage facility in Lisle Township is drawing opposition from neighbors near 75th Street and Wehrli Road who say they fear the business could create a trend of industrial development in the area.
Neighbors say they oppose a proposed Extra Space self-storage facility on 3.5 acres at 24W655 and 24W681 75th St. because it's simply too big, it could cause road noise to reflect back at their homes, it would generate extra traffic and light and there could be security concerns.
“That just doesn't fit the character of the neighborhood,” said nearby resident Lorraine Donnell, who lives in Hobson Villas, a subdivision of attached single-family homes for people 55 and older that sits north of the site across 75th Street.
The building is proposed at 105,000 square feet among three floors, each taking up 35,000 square feet. It would be 36 feet tall with the highest parapet rising to 40 feet. The building of gray masonry and decorative metal would replace two houses on the property west of a Walgreens and north of Meadow Glens park and Meadow Glens Elementary School.
Site plans call for roughly 730 storage units with 17 parking spaces and open space for water retention and detention between the building and the park. A traffic study projects about 180 new trips in and out of the business each day.
Hobson Villas resident Tim Donnell said allowing the self-storage facility to locate in an area dominated by homes could change the trend of development.
“The area is decidedly residential,” he said. “We're concerned that (the self-storage facility) might set us on a path that industrializes the neighborhood because of the availability of adjacent properties.”
To be built, the storage facility would need three changes approved by the DuPage County Board: a rezoning request to designate the land for local business instead of residential, a conditional use to allow a self-storage facility in a local business district and an increase to the floor-area ratio allowed at the site to accommodate the size of the building.
Developers are seeking those changes through a series of meetings with county committees. Next up is a hearing of the zoning board at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, in room 3500B of the administration building at 421 N. County Farm Road. After that, the project could go to the development committee and then the full county board.
The Donnells and fellow and Hobson Villas residents are lining up others to voice opposition to the project, including possibly the Naperville City Council.
The city of Naperville already filed an objection with the county about the proposal because the self-storage facility is inconsistent with a planning study of the 75th Street corridor, which calls for future residential, office or limited commercial use on the site.
Some nearby houses have been converted to what neighbor Gary Shafer calls “low-impact” businesses including a veterinarian, a day care center and a learning center.
“That's what everyone would envision” for the site next to Walgreens, too, Shafer said.
At its next meeting Feb. 16, the city council will consider a resolution of objection. If approved, the resolution would create a higher standard of approval for the project at the county board level, requiring a supermajority of votes for the storage facility to become reality.