Committee forwards QuikTrip plan for Eola and Deal after traffic, safety conditions addressed

Aurora’s Building Zoning and Economic Development Committee on March 26 voted to forward an ordinance and a preliminary-plan revision to the committee of the whole that would allow a QuikTrip convenience store and fuel station at the Eola Road and Deal Road intersection.

The committee approved ordinance 25-0209, granting a conditional use permit for a facility described under city code as a “truck stop establishment,” and resolution 25-0210, a revision to the preliminary plat and plan that consolidates parcels and shows a 5,023-square-foot QuikTrip with 16 fueling positions and 48 parking spaces (two handicap accessible). Both actions passed on voice votes with five members present.

Tracy Basic, senior planner with the zoning and planning division, said the petitioner’s plan includes cross-access and stormwater easements, an 8-foot multi-use path along Eola and Deal, and conceptual building and signage elevations that will be reviewed at final plan. On the project’s fueling layout, Basic explained the city’s definition: the designation triggers the truck-stop category when the station provides “one or more diesel fuel stations with bays specifically designed to accommodate semi trucks or other commercial vehicles.”

Petitioner representative Ali Buchres described QuikTrip’s site design and company practices and stressed the project would not offer overnight truck parking or trucker amenities. “We do not offer any overnight parking,” Buchres said, adding the design is a “quick trip” model intended for drivers to fuel and move on. He also said the company uses continuous audio and video surveillance and works with local law enforcement.

Robert Matko, the traffic engineer for the project, summarized the traffic analysis and said roughly three quarters of site trips are likely to be pass-by trips: “as much as 76% of the traffic is coming off of the street,” he said. Matko described driveway restrictions designed to limit site backup: a right‑in/right‑out and a full-access driveway that will include a proposed westbound‑to‑southbound left-turn lane on Deal Road that QuikTrip will construct and pay for.

Committee members voiced questions about proximity to a nearby high school, potential truck idling, and visibility from I‑88. Alderwoman Bade pressed safety concerns given the site’s closeness to the school; staff and the petitioner pointed to the site’s location on two major roads, the city’s noise ordinance, and a staff condition prohibiting overnight parking as mitigations. The petitioner also said the company’s underground storage system uses double-walled tanks monitored 24 hours; Buchres said automated monitoring would trigger an automatic stop and EPA notification in the event of leakage.

City counsel Patrick Hounds read the relevant code sections and cautioned the committee that the city’s ordinance treats any facility selling diesel to commercial vehicles as a truck stop for zoning classification purposes. “That specifically allows for, quote, ‘one or more diesel fuel stations with bays that are designed to accommodate semi trucks or other commercial vehicles,’” Hounds said.

Staff told the committee two prior conditions attached to the preliminary plan — (1) revisions to incorporate zoning and planning staff comments and (3) revisions to incorporate Fire Prevention Bureau comments — had been satisfied and would be removed. With those conditions cleared, committee members moved and approved both items and directed staff to include corrected plan orientation (north shown up) and additional aerial material before the committee of the whole.

The committee discussion also touched on potential packaged-alcohol sales (the petitioner would need city liquor licensing approval), the project’s conduit-ready provision for future electric vehicle chargers, and utility coordination with ComEd for any necessary relocations.

The committee forwarded ordinance 25-0209 and resolution 25-0210 to the committee of the whole; the items will appear on the council track for further review. The meeting adjourned without a closed session.