Downers Grove Council Shows Support For Dutch Bros. Proposal During 1st Reading

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — On Tuesday, the Downers Grove Village Council expressed support during its first reading of a proposal to build a drive-thru Dutch Bros. Coffee location at the intersection of Ogden and Saratoga.

The Dutch Bros. Coffee plans have met with resistance from residents who expressed concerns over traffic and pedestrian safety, as the site is near Herrick Middle School.

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Petitioners are requesting a planned unit development and a special use permit that would allow for a drive-thru. They're also seeking approval for an alley vacation and zoning map amendment.

During Tuesday's meeting, petitioners shared info about the site design, which includes two lots. The Dutch Bros. Coffee would be located on one lot and the other lot would be used for a new approximately 4,000 square foot multi-tenant retail building.

If approved, the project would be tackled in two phases. During the first phase, crews would demolish the site's current building, prep both lots and build the Dutch Bros. shop. The multi-tenant retail building would be constructed during phase two.

The village's planning and zoning commission reviewed the proposal at its July 6 meeting and voted 5 to 1 recommend denial.

Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation President Brian Gay said the site has been "strategically identified for this particular use" its size, the traffic controls and the parking availability.

He said they met with the superintendents of Districts 99 and 58 and "during that meeting they didn't express any concerns for the project."

Many residents who spoke out at Tuesday's meeting urged the village and developers to consider a different site.

Renee Mazour, who lives on Saratoga, said many of the other Dutch Bros. she's seen built or proposed in Illinois are in shopping centers. Mazour said, "we're talking large shopping centers that can accommodate that kind of traffic."

Mazour said when she visits Naperville and sees the Dutch Bros. near Ogden and Iroquois, "I see 50 cars wrapped around into the industrial office area."

She said she is worried about safety, adding that she already deals with traffic near the proposed site when she picks up students who attend Herrick Middle School.

"It's quite the event every day," Mazour said.

"I'm just very concerned that that area is not large enough to accommodate that type of business."

Attorney Pat Provenzale spoke on behalf of his client and brother Don, whose dental office is located just south of the proposed Dutch Bros. site, and his client and mother, Mary Ellen, who is a part owner of the lot where the office is located.

Provenzale said the traffic study is "problematic on a couple of really material angles."

"The comparables to the sites that were looked at and this site is not there," Provenzale said. "They're different locations in terms of larger parking lots, larger retail strip malls areas, not a sandwiched, really compact location that's on the corner of a busy intersection that really has little movement for traffic in the area."

He added, "There's been no study impact on pedestrian traffic in that area. And the pedestrian traffic is the most vulnerable population because everyone knows of the schools there and the amount of pedestrian traffic that those students who live in the condominiums across the way over by Doerhofer or live

in Orchard Brook or in the neighborhoods in that area are crossing to and from Ogden Avenue on Saratoga all the time."

Provenzale said he thinks "it's a health and welfare situation" for nearby students "that should be studied and no one's weighed in on."

He said the traffic is a "patient population issue" for his family. He said the rear lot is the only place where patients of his brother's practice have accessible parking.

Village commissioners acknowledge residents' concerns, but many expressed that they feel the petitioners have worked with the village when concerns have arisen.

"In this case, I do think that the developer has worked extensively with staff and with neighbors to alleviate some of the concerns. I do appreciate a lot of the changes that have been made," Commissioner Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt said.

"Our role up here really is to look at the standards of approval, see if they're met and make the decision that's in the best interest of the community."

"We still have to think about the economic impact on the village and what is going to be sustainable in the long-term," Sadowski-Fugitt said, "because that does have an impact on the quality of life for all of our residents."

Sadowski-Fugitt said she's aware of the long pickup lines at Herrick.

"I don't want to tell somebody how to do their jobs, but this is a District 58 problem," she said, "And it's not just at Herrick. It's everywhere."

Sadowski-Fugitt added, "And since we just had a large renovation, I'm a little disappointed to hear that things are still challenging."

Commissioner Martin Tully said the site "certainly deserves redevelopment."

"This was specifically designed for this type of business because of what Ogden Avenue is, because it's a TIF district and because there's an intersection there that has a signal."

Mayor Bob Barnett echoed these sentiments, saying economic activity helps keep property taxes low. "It can't be divorced from these conversations."

Nonetheless, he said he wants more info on how to "diminish the pain" for residents who live to the south.