Zoning board approves design review for 10774 Main Street site in Roscoe

The Roscoe Zoning Board on April 2026 approved design review for phase 2 of site improvements at 10774 Main Street, clearing the way for sidewalks, landscaping and a flexible outdoor pad to support a home-decor retail business and occasional food-truck activity.

Planning staff told the board the applicant recently rezoned the property to the Main Street Core district and is seeking design review for site work including turf and landscaping where pavement once existed, construction of a front sidewalk and pedestrian walkways, and an asphalt milling pad intended for outdoor displays and vendor activation. Planning staff said the property’s single-story building totals approximately 1,058 square feet and is therefore exempt from the district’s off-street parking minimum for larger nonresidential buildings; the site will rely on on-street parking on Main and Broad streets.

The board’s approval, reached by roll call, was subject to standard conditions: installation of the materials reviewed by the board, preservation of previous phase-1 conditions, completion of utility locates and required permits prior to work in the right of way, coordination with village engineering for on-street improvements, compliance with IDOT traffic-control specifications during construction, and meeting the applicable landscaping requirements. Planning staff said the landscaping requirements include adding at least one canopy tree and a number of shrubs or tall grasses appropriate to the frontage; the submitted plans listed both approximately 13 shrubs in one place and a similar planting total described elsewhere as roughly 30 shrubs/tall grasses, which the board will reconcile during permit review.

Planning staff also explained how the milling pad will be limited to accessory uses that support the primary indoor retail operation — for example, seasonal pop-up tents, vendor displays and occasionally food trucks — and cannot operate as a standalone commercial use or general customer/staff parking.

Greg Osborne, one of the property owners, described practical details for the site: the project will restore a 46-inch sidewalk that currently ends at the neighboring building, add two parking spaces where a former garage door once stood, and create a back workshop area with large sliding doors designed for workshops and small events. "We're adding two additional parking spaces because... we're not gonna have trucks going," Osborne said, describing the change from a previous loading-like condition to customer-focused parking. He added that the owners are plumbing the building to accommodate possible future uses such as coffee or baked-goods service.

During board questions, members asked whether sidewalk and frontage work could be affected by a longer-term road reconstruction project. Village engineering staff said they had reviewed future plans with the applicant and provided construction documents to the architect; the owners acknowledged the risk that future reconstruction could alter some frontage work but said the sidewalk investment is part of doing business in that location.

Rob Baxter, speaking during public comment, praised the board’s efforts to reshape downtown Roscoe but urged improvements in committee attendance and a stronger approach to recruiting businesses. "I noticed on this committee, there's a lot of absenteeism," Baxter said, and he warned that recent multifamily development is changing the character and housing costs in town.

The board’s roll call on the design-review motion recorded votes of "yes" from Jorgensen, Schlitzing, Skridla and Butera, approving the phase-2 design review. The approval requires the applicant to obtain all listed permits and inspections and to meet the board’s landscaping and right-of-way coordination conditions before construction begins. The meeting adjourned at the close of the agenda.