Development committee recommends Naperville supportive-housing plan to county board

The DuPage County Development Committee voted to recommend that the county board consider approval of a Naperville project that would convert an existing house into a group home, add a greenhouse for vocational activity, and include an accessory dwelling unit to support families.

Dave Nelson, who identified himself as the petitioner for the proposal, told the committee the plan would be built "on a 1.14 acre property that's 49,600 square feet" and includes site work already completed, groundwater studies and a vocational greenhouse intended to provide employment for residents. Nelson asked the committee to support forwarding the case to the county board.

Paul, the county planning staff member who summarized the zoning record, said the Zoning Board of Appeals recommended denial based on policy concerns rather than land-use incompatibility and described the immediate area as a mixed-use transitional corridor. "Carries about 36,000 movements a day," Paul said of Napier Boulevard, arguing the parcel's context supports the petitioners' mixed-use plan.

Advocates urged the committee to override the zoning board's denial. Sharon Castavelli, who said she is "the founder of Engage Illinois," said the denied variances frustrate families seeking community-based housing and invoked federal disability-access law as context. Julie Evans, a disability advocate, recommended the county also explore zoning-code changes to encourage supportive housing.

The committee voted in favor of recommending approval of the items on the agenda related to this petition (items 7a1–10). The chair said the case will go to the county board at its next scheduled meeting and emphasized that the requested variances would require 14 votes at the county board level.