Board accepts planning commission recommendation to amend Montgomery Business Center PUD; trustee voices cost concerns

The Village of Montgomery accepted a Planning & Zoning Commission recommendation to amend a special use for the Montgomery Business Center planned unit development (PCC 2024-009), adjusting timing and design requirements for Nell Road.

Staff explained the amendment would allow developers to construct Nell Road across Lot 5 frontage (with binder course in place) and permit occupancy of Lot 5 before the full road extension is complete. The amendment also would relax certain features compared with the original PUD: no required bike path, sidewalk on one side only, locating wetland/floodplain landscaping within stormwater easements rather than conservation easements, and the possibility of a reduced bond if TIF funds are used to build Nell Road.

A petitioner’s representative said the request aims to let Lot 5 occupants obtain occupancy in a shorter window while the complete roadway is finished in a "timely manner." Trustees pushed for a clearer definition of "timely" and for security to be posted for the entire road. Trustee (identified in the transcript as Trustee 4) argued that Lot 3 and Lot 5 could be developed without the Nell Road extension, estimated TIF support could be "a couple million dollars," and said he would vote no citing taxpayer concerns. Despite that statement, roll-call voting later recorded unanimous support; the board accepted the planning commission’s recommendation and staff said an enacting ordinance will return at a future meeting.

The record notes public concerns at the planning hearing about removal of a bike path and other design changes; the petitioner has submitted final engineering and preliminary plats and seeks occupancy for Lot 5 possibly by July (timing dependent on bid and construction schedules). Staff and petitioners committed to posting security bonds for the full road to protect the village.