St. Charles council approves Brownstone PUD changes, clears path for River 504 project after 5-4 vote

The St. Charles City Council on Aug. 18, 2025, approved amendments to the Brownstone Planned Unit Development preliminary plan for the River 504 development, adopting brick pavers on First Street, rejecting tree grates on First Street, and requiring replacement trees of the largest available caliper from a local nursery. The motion passed 5-4 after an amendment to the original plan.

Council members and staff said the central conflict was whether to reroute an existing sanitary sewer that runs through the middle of the site to preserve mature parkway trees on Prairie Street. Russ Colby, city planning staff, told the council that using brick pavers on First Street would raise the public improvement budget by $12,000 and that adding tree grates and trees would add roughly $11,000 to that budget. Colby said, “the brick pavers could be used in place of the concrete sidewalk along First Street. The added additional cost is $12,000 and that cost will be added into the public improvement budget.”

Developer Julie Salyers of J and B…