Oswego board approves final PUD for 5-acre commercial development at Route 34 and Kendall Pointe Drive

The Village of Oswego Village Board on Feb. 18 approved an ordinance adopting a final planned-unit development (PUD) for a five-acre site at the southwest corner of Route 34 and Kendall Pointe Drive to allow a proposed grocery store and an adjacent retail/restaurant building.

Village staff said the site plan shows two commercial buildings: a 12,500-square-foot primary retail building (described by staff as a likely grocery store) oriented toward the corner of Route 34 and Candle Point Drive, and a 10,000-square-foot secondary retail building that could be split for a restaurant and smaller retail or bank tenant and would include a drive-through lane. The petitioner proposes 214 parking spaces. Staff recommended approval.

The PUD is on property currently zoned B1, which allows the proposed uses, and includes a proposed monument sign at the site’s northeast corner. Staff described exterior materials for the main building as brick, cultured stone and stucco. Access to the site will be from three points: a full-access driveway on the west end of Route 34, and two driveways on Kendall Pointe Drive (staff said the northern Kendall Pointe access would be right-in only because returning movements were restricted by an adjacent Delta Sonic project). Staff noted the plan includes a 30-by-30 vision triangle to protect sight lines and said the parking area could be within 10 feet of Route 34 under current B1 rules.

During discussion trustees asked about landscaping, sightlines and setbacks. One trustee urged monitoring of plantings near the western drive to avoid overgrowth that could block drivers’ vision; staff said the plan meets the village’s 30-by-30 vision-triangle standard and that landscaping details would be refined as final plans are completed.

A nearby resident, Fred Mahler, spoke during the public forum before new business and raised traffic and pedestrian-safety concerns tied to the new grocery store and other recent nearby development. Mahler said left-turn signage and roadside markers near his subdivision have been missing or damaged for months, that sidewalks near homes are uneven and buckling from frost, and that added store traffic could push drivers to cut through the neighborhood. A village official responded that staff would look into the traffic signal and invited Mahler to send an email about sidewalk locations so staff could follow up.

The board approved the PUD ordinance by roll call vote. Recorded responses in the transcript were: Trustee Jones Sennott — yes; Trustee McCarthy Lang — yes; Trustee Torres — yes; Trustee Novey — yes; Trustee Geist — yes. The ordinance passed.

The PUD ordinance does not name specific tenants for the secondary building; staff said the retail building’s final tenant mix could affect required parking within a stated range. The applicant has not submitted final architectural elevations for the second building; staff said those elevations must match the primary building’s style when submitted.

With the PUD approved, staff will proceed with the plan’s final engineering, landscaping and building-elevation reviews and any required permit approvals before construction can begin.

Less-critical details: staff compared the proposed monument-sign allowances to prior projects such as Prairie Market and said the requested signage is larger than a typical allowance but similar to that earlier development.