Aurora council delays decision on rezoning 3.91 acres on East Jewell after neighborhood objections

Aurora City Council on March 10 paused a public hearing on a request to rezone roughly 3.91 acres south of East Jewell Avenue and south of South Joliet Street from RR (rural residential) to R2 (medium-density residential), voting to continue the matter for two weeks after several residents raised concerns about site constraints and an alleged neighborhood agreement to retain lower-density zoning.

The rezoning request was brought by applicant Urban Cottages LLC, which told council the change would permit “infill redevelopment” including paired homes or duplexes intended to transition from nearby single-family areas to higher-density uses along Jewell. Planning staff said the proposal aligns with the city’s Aurora Places comprehensive plan and that the planning commission had recommended approval following neighborhood outreach.

Neighbors at the hearing said the project raised unresolved technical and process questions. Resident Shana Shabaturra said the developer had “provided empty, disconnected answers” and listed concerns including a raptor nest in pines on the property, an Xcel Energy natural-gas distribution main that she said crosses the site, two abandoned wells, and the absence of up-to-date geotechnical and drainage reviews. Kyle Webber, who said he lives on an abutting parcel, said many design and construction details remained “unspecified” and warned the developer had not committed a builder.

Applicant representatives, including Carl Nelson of Urban Cottages and planner Allen Cunningham of PCS Group, said the property is vacant, that prior studies did not show threatened species, and that the project team has begun civil engineering and utility coordination. Cunningham said the team reduced an earlier concept from 32 paired homes to a 30-unit plan and that site engineering, third-party review, and utility reconnections (including work with Xcel) would be addressed during the site-plan process.

Planning manager Brandon Cammarata told council that the unified development code does not publish a single numeric density for R2; rather, R2 permits a variety of housing types (duplexes, fourplexes) that differ from R1 (single-family detached). Staff also confirmed a traffic study had been completed and approved and that notices and neighborhood contacts had been made as part of the process.

Council members debated competing priorities. Councilmember Jurinski said she was reluctant to rezone city property generally: “I don't care to change rezoning right now at all, period.” Councilmembers who supported the request said the parcel is in a developed urban area with nearby services and that allowing moderately higher density could provide additional for-sale housing near transit and amenities.

The hearing took a new turn when several residents and council members referred to an alleged informal agreement between the city and the Havana Heights neighborhood to preserve R1/RR zoning in the area. Councilmember Bergen moved to continue the public hearing for two weeks to allow staff and the neighborhood to present any recorded agreement or additional documentation; Councilmember Jurinski seconded. The council voted to continue the item to the next regular meeting.

The continuation preserves the council’s ability to review the zoning request after staff verifies whether a recorded agreement exists and after the project team refines site-plan materials. If the council later approves rezoning, the applicant will return with a site plan subject to the city’s engineering, drainage, environmental, and third-party review processes.

Votes at a glance: the council agreed to continue the public hearing for two weeks; the motion to continue was moved by Councilmember Bergen and seconded by Councilmember Jurinski and passed (formal roll-call details were not recorded in the public transcript).