Cary board approves Seasons at Cary PUD with two‑way New Haven connection; traffic measures to be designed before permits

The Village of Cary Board of Trustees on Oct. 28 approved an ordinance granting a comprehensive plan amendment, zoning map amendment, final plat of subdivision, a stormwater management variance and a planned development for the Seasons at Cary PUD, and amended the approval to require New Haven Drive to be a bidirectional (two‑way) connection from the existing cul‑de‑sac to the easternmost entrance of the development.

Village Attorney Scott Euler told the board the plan commission held the required public hearing and forwarded its recommendation, and that the board was considering a motion that had been tabled from its Oct. 21 meeting. "None of the members sitting up here, elected members of your village board or the mayor, have had any discussions with this development team between the last meeting and tonight's meeting," Euler said, noting information exchanged passed through staff.

Why it matters: Trustees said a two‑way New Haven connection would improve access to the roughly 5.9 acres of commercial land the developer is now showing and support stronger retail users, while staff and trustees also emphasized that traffic‑calming measures must be designed and approved before building permits are issued to address neighborhood safety concerns.

Developer changes and tradeoffs

Tony DeRosa of Fiduciary Real Estate Development presented the changes the team made since the earlier hearings. "We were able to increase the commercial land from the 4.7 acres that you saw last week to the 5.9 acres," DeRosa said, and summarized that the adjustment was achieved by enlarging a central stormwater pond, removing pickleball courts from a green space, and reducing the length of the south leg of a private frontage road.

DeRosa listed specific setback changes: Building G's setback to the property line was increased from about 15 feet to 29 feet (approximately 66 feet to edge of pavement in the exhibit); Buildings A and B were increased to 20 feet; and setbacks along the commercial frontage (Buildings C, E and P) were increased from 24 to 32 feet, eliminating the need for a variance for those structures.

On stormwater, the developer said maintaining the village's current 72‑hour drawdown requirement would require about "3 to 4 acres" of additional stormwater storage and reduce developable area. DeRosa also reported that McHenry County was briefed and had no objection to the proposed stormwater approach and that other counties allow longer drawdown times.

Access, marketability and Walmart

DeRosa told trustees Walmart had declined a cross‑access connection and that, in his view, the absence of a westbound connection would make it harder to attract national retailers. "When you have an ability to stop traffic in front of you ... national retailers look at that as a critical factor of how they do site selection," he said, while cautioning a signal does not guarantee any specific tenant.

Traffic calming and timing for design

Village staff presented two categories of traffic measures: non‑infrastructure options (signage, lane narrowing, speed radar signs, truck restrictions, trailblazer signage and possible park‑zone speed limits) and infrastructure options (roundabouts, lateral shifts, choke points, curb extensions, raised crosswalks and chicanes). Staff said these are conceptual and would require field engineering before implementation.

Trustees repeatedly emphasized that any approved connection must include traffic‑calming measures. Community Development Director Bridal Simmons and the village administrator said the final design and selection of measures will be reviewed and approved by the village prior to issuing building permits and will return to the Committee of the Whole so the public can comment.

On professional review, the village administrator said village staff and consultants include licensed professional engineers and certified traffic operations engineers who reviewed the project's traffic studies.

Key numbers and clarifications

- Commercial acreage: developer increased from 4.7 acres (previous iteration) to 5.9 acres in the revised plan (Tony DeRosa).

- Retail square footage: DeRosa said schematic retail grew from about 30–32,000 sq ft to roughly 40,000 sq ft (an increase of about 8–9,000 sq ft).

- Stormwater: maintaining a 72‑hour drawdown reportedly would require 3–4 acres of additional stormwater area and reduce developable land (Tony DeRosa).

- Setbacks: Building G setback increased from about 15 feet to 29 feet to the property line; setback to curbline shown as about 66 feet in the developer exhibit (Tony DeRosa).

Board action and votes

Trustee Collier moved to amend the pending motion to replace condition number 3 to require New Haven be a bidirectional two‑way connection and to require final design and signage approval by the village engineer prior to issuance of building permits; Trustee Savani seconded. The amendment and the ordinance package passed on a roll call vote, 5–1 (Trustee Stefani voted no). The motion as amended approves the comprehensive plan amendment, zoning map amendment, final plat of subdivision, stormwater variance and planned development for the Seasons at Cary PUD.

What was not decided or remains subject to later review

Staff and trustees clarified that the traffic‑calming measures and the final engineering of the New Haven connection will be determined before building permits are issued and will be subject to further public review at Committee of the Whole meetings. Staff said the village retains jurisdiction to study and, if necessary, modify traffic controls or road configurations in the future if conditions warrant.

Meeting context and next steps

Trustees said they had reviewed public input and staff analysis and reiterated safety concerns raised by residents. The developer and staff will continue final engineering work; traffic‑calming measures will be developed and returned to the village for public review and approval before permits are issued. The board moved on to routine staff updates and adjourned the meeting at 6:59 p.m.

Ending note: Several residents had raised procedural and meeting‑recording concerns at the start of the session; Village Attorney Scott Euler and multiple trustees stated that any staff‑developer communications were handled through staff and that no private trustee‑developer contacts occurred between meetings.