PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Conduct the public hearing to consider the requested entitlements to add a drive-through to the BP at 1532 North Aurora Road - DEV-0100-2025
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Anna Franco, AICP, Community Planner
ENTITLEMENTS REQUESTED:
1. A conditional use for an automobile service station in the B3 zoning district pursuant to Section 6-7C-3:2 (B3 District: Conditional Uses) of the Naperville Municipal Code.
2. A variance to Section 6-9-6:2.2 (Supplemental Standards for Drive-Through Stacking Lanes: Bypass Lane) of the Naperville Municipal Code to provide a partial bypass lane.
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
Official notice for the public hearing for DEV-0100-2025 was published in the Naperville Sun on Friday, November 28, 2025.
BACKGROUND:
The subject property is approximately 1.37-acres and is located near the southwest corner of the intersection of North Aurora Road and Ogden Avenue. The property is currently improved with an approximately 3,660 square-foot BP To Go convenience store, a BP fueling canopy structure, and ten (10) fueling stations and is zoned B3 (General Commercial District). The B3 zoning district classifies automobile service stations as a conditional use.
Access to the subject property is currently provided via a curb cut with two-way access on North Aurora Road as well as two-way cross access with the multi-tenant commercial property to the west. The property is bordered by the BNSF railroad tracks and Ogden Avenue to the south and a stormwater management area on the property to the east. The two adjacent properties are owned by the same owner as the subject property
DISCUSSION:
The petitioner, CIMA Developers, LP, is requesting approval of a conditional use for an automobile service station in the B3 zoning district and a variance to provide a partial bypass lane to add a drive-through lane for a proposed quick service restaurant to the existing automobile service station. The proposed quick service restaurant has not been identified at this time.
Conditional Use
In 2016, a text amendment was processed to revise the B3 zoning district and require conditional uses for automobile service stations. Automobile service stations were identified as a type of use that serves customers and in part requires commercial visibility to be successful, however, these uses have the potential to adversely impact the intended retail nature of commercial corridors as well as adjacent properties. Accordingly, the code was revised to require conditional use approval to provide an additional level of review by the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) and the City Council in order to determine if the potential use is appropriate for the proposed location based on the specifics of the case presented.
The gas station on the subject property pre-dates the 2016 code amendment and is therefore considered an existing non-conforming use. However, the addition of the drive-through lane to the property triggers the requirement for the petitioner to seek and obtain conditional use approval pursuant to Section 6-7C-3:2 (B3 District: Conditional Uses) of the Naperville Municipal Code at this time.
Staff’s analysis of an automobile service station on the subject property considers zoning classifications and land uses in the surrounding area, the existing land use of the subject property, and consistency with the Land Use Master Plan. The Land Use Master Plan (2022) identifies the future place type of the property as “Urban Center”. Gas stations are identified as an example of a primary use in the Urban Center land use designation and therefore, staff finds the petitioner’s proposal to be consistent with this designation.
Findings of Fact
Given the property’s location near a major intersection and along a commercial section of North Aurora, the consistency with the Land Use Master Plan future place type designation, and the existing use of the subject property as an automobile service station, staff finds the proposed conditional use to be compatible with the surrounding area. The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting or Amending a Conditional Use can be found in the attachments. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the PZC.
Drive-through Bypass Lane Variance
The petitioner is proposing to add a drive-through lane, menu board, and drive through window on the east side of the existing convenience store building for the proposed fast service restaurant. The 170-foot-long drive through is designed in a “U” layout with cars entering the drive through from the eastern most lane and existing via the westernmost lane. Cars entering the drive-through will be permitted to stack along the east side of the existing paved area on the property with a total of twelve (12) total stacking spaces provided. The proposed stacking spaces exceed the minimum required stacking spaces of four (4) per window for coffee shop uses and meets the minimum required twelve (12) stacking spaces (with a minimum of five (5) spaces between order and pick up) for restaurant uses. The drive-through addition will result in the loss of seven (7) parking spaces, but the property will continue to comply with the City’s minimum parking requirements.
A partial bypass lane is provided for approximately 66 feet of length at the end of the drive-through to allow vehicles to exit before the pick-up window. Per Section 6-9-6:2.2 (Supplemental Standards for Drive-Through Stacking Lanes: Bypass Lane) of the Naperville Municipal Code, a 10-foot bypass lane is required for the entirety of the drive-through and therefore a variance is required.
Strict enforcement of the code requirements would result in the need for a parallel pavement section to be added adjacent to the entirety of the drive-through lane, which is not feasible due to the location of the existing building and setback requirements. Given that a partial bypass lane is included to provide customers with the ability to exit the drive-through, staff finds the variance request reasonable.
The petitioner does not have an end-user identified for the drive-through space at this time. Ideally, the user would be known so that staff can verify that the drive-through design is sufficient to accommodate the user’s demand. While the petitioner has provided drive-through queue observations/studies for typical fast service restaurants, including Dunkin Donuts and Jimmy John’s, to show that the proposed drive-through is expected to accommodate queuing needs, staff recommends the following condition of approval for the requested bypass lane variance to allow staff to adequately evaluate stacking needs once a user has been identified.
Proposed Condition of Approval
The City shall not issue a certificate of occupancy until drive-through stacking has been verified as sufficient for the proposed fast service restaurant user (User). Once a User has been identified, the petitioner shall submit a stacking evaluation for the proposed User that provides stacking data based on existing User locations (or equivalent restaurant types if the User is the first of its kind) to confirm that stacking needs for the proposed User can be met with the twelve (12) available on-site stacking spaces. If staff determines that the on-site stacking spaces are insufficient for the proposed User, the petitioner shall request a major change to the approved conditional use to be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council.
Findings of Fact
Staff finds the proposed drive-through design to be sufficient and is supportive of the requested variance given the limitations of the subject property, subject to the condition of approval listed above. The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Zoning Variance can be found in the attachments. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the PZC.
Key Takeaways
• The petitioner requests approval of a conditional use to allow an automobile service station in the B3 Zoning District and a variance to the bypass lane requirement to add a drive-through to the existing BP for a quick service restaurant.
• Staff is in support of the requests due to consistency with the Land Use Master Plan, the commercial nature of this section of North Aurora Road, and existing site constraints, subject to the condition of approval regarding the fast service restaurant user.