PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Conduct the public hearing to consider the requested entitlements for a multi-family residential development at 1900 Ferry Road (CityGate II) - DEV-0177-2025
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Anna Franco, AICP, Community Planner
ENTITLEMENTS REQUESTED:
1. Major Change to the Planned Unit Development for CityGate Centre.
2. Planned Unit Development Plan and Plat.
3. Conditional use for a multi-family building in the OCI zoning district.
4. Deviation to City Code Section 6-7F-5:2 to permit 297 residential units on +/- 5 acres (217,800 square feet) in lieu of 1 unit per 2,600 square feet (approximately 1 unit per 730 square feet).
5. Deviation to City Code Section 6-9-3:1 to reduce off-street parking from 2 spaces per unit (594 spaces) to 1.24 spaces per unit (369 resident parking spaces/297 units) and reduce guest parking from .25 spaces per unit (74 spaces) to .18 spaces per unit (53 guest parking spaces/297 units) for a total of 1.42 parking spaces per unit in lieu of 2.25 parking spaces per unit (422 total parking spaces/297 units).
6. Deviation to City Code Section 6-7F-8:1 to permit a maximum building height of 51’ in lieu of 43’.
7. Deviation pursuant to City Code Section 7-1-13 to permit a 20-foot building setback along Westings Avenue and Comfort Drive in conformance with the City’s OCI zoning district in lieu of the 30’ platted setback. (City Council review)
8. Deviation to City Code Sections 6-2-10:2 and 6-2-12:2.1 to permit a pickleball court and associated screening fence to be located in the 20’ corner side yard setback along Westings Avenue.
9. Deviation to City Code Section 6-2-12:2.1 to permit a retaining wall to be located in the 20’ corner side yard setback along Comfort Drive.
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
Official notice for the public hearing for DEV-0177-2025 was published in the Naperville Sun on Sunday, May 17, 2026.
BACKGROUND:
The 5-acre subject property is located at the southeast corner of Ferry Road and CityGate Lane and is part of the CityGate Centre development and PUD. The subject property is zoned OCI PUD (Office, Commercial, and Institutional District - Planned Unit Development) and is predominantly vacant except for a surface level parking lot
containing 79 parking spaces and a pickleball court.
The subject property is adjacent to the Domain CityGate apartments to the west, an office and commercial building across City Gate Lane to the west, office buildings to the south and east across Westings Avenue and Comfort Drive, and Monarch Landing and vacant property to the north across Ferry Road. All adjacent properties are zoned OCI or ORI.
The subject property was subdivided into its current configuration in association with the development of the Domain CityGate apartment complex, which is a 285-unit multi-family residential development completed by the petitioner in 2022. This development (previously known as Lincoln at CityGate) was approved by City Council on September 3, 2019 with Ordinances 19-123, 19-0124, 19-125 and received similar entitlements to the proposed development, including: a major change to the PUD, PUD plat with deviations to increase the building height and to reduce the number of parking spaces and lot area; a deviation from the 30’ platted setback along Westings Avenue; a conditional use to permit multi-family dwelling units; and, a variance to reduce the required amount of masonry on the building.
DISCUSSION:
The petitioner, CityGate Centre Ventures II LLC, proposes to construct a 4-story, 297-unit multi-family building on the subject property. An overview of the entitlement requests is provided below.
Major Change to the PUD & Preliminary PUD Plat
The subject property is part of the CityGate Centre PUD. The petitioner requests a conditional use to permit multi-family dwelling units, as well as deviations from the Municipal Code requirements for building height, number of parking spaces, lot area, and OCI zone setbacks. Per Section 6-4-6:1 (Changes to Final Planned Unit Development: Major Change), the conditional use and deviations trigger the requirement that a major change to the PUD is processed.
The petitioner proposes to construct a 4-story, 297-unit multi-family rental unit building with a total of 476,278 gross square feet. The development will include a 5-story parking deck containing 414 parking spaces that will be completely enclosed and screened by residential liner units with access from Comfort Drive. The main entrance to the building is located along City Gate Lane and loading is located off the drive aisle between the proposed apartment building and Domain CityGate.
The building features earth tone exterior materials including brick, fiber cement siding, metal panel, wood panel and cast stone accents. The majority of the building is composed of fiber cement siding, while brick is applied to the first floor and creates a visual base for the building. The building complies with the 50% masonry material standards as outlined in Section 5-2C-3 (Exterior Wall Construction) of the Municipal Code.
Per Section 6-4-3:3 (Planned Unit Developments: Design Standards and Criteria), outdoor common areas are required in planned unit developments as a means of passive or active recreation, site amenity, environmental protection, or beautification. Mixed use PUDs, such as the proposed, are required to provide 20% open space. The proposed development provides 33.5% open space in the form of a courtyard featuring an outdoor pool, a relocated pickleball court located south of the building, and passive green space. A stormwater detention facility is also located south of the building along Westings Avenue.
Findings of Fact
Staff finds the proposed multi-family building is complimentary to the office, hotel, retail, restaurant, and existing residential uses within the existing PUD and is in support of the request for a major change. The petitioner’s responses to the standards for amending a PUD are attached. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Conditional Use for Multi-Family Dwellings Units
The petitioner requests approval of a conditional use to permit multi-family dwelling units in the OCI zone pursuant to Section 6-7F-3 (OCI District: Conditional Uses). The proposed building includes 297 rental apartments consisting of 225 1-bedroom/studio units and 72 2-bedroom units; a fitness center is located on the first floor of the building near the main building entrance.
Findings of Fact
The proposed apartment building is consistent with both the City’s Land Use Master Plan and surrounding uses. The Land Use Master Plan designates the future land use of the subject property as “Regional Center” and classifies multi-family as a supporting use to reinforce commercial business and institutional uses. Further, the CityGate campus currently features office, hotel, retail, restaurant, and residential uses. The proposed building provides an additional residential element consistent with a mixed-use campus. The petitioner’s responses to the standards for granting a conditional use are attached. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Height Deviation
The petitioner requests a deviation from Section 6-7F-8 (OCI District: Height Limitations/Bulk Regulations) to allow an increase in the maximum building height. Per Code, the maximum height for a building with a residential component in the OCI district is 43’. Per Section 6-2-4 (Building Height and Bulk), building height shall be measured to the highest point of the roof surface in case of a flat roof. The proposed building is approximately 50’-7” per the code definition and exceeds the maximum height requirement by 7’-7”. It should be noted that the building is approximately 59’-11” at its highest point, however, ornamental towers, parapet walls, and other similar structures and necessary mechanical appurtenances may be erected to their customary height, regardless of the height limitations of the zoning district in which they are located.
Findings of Fact
Staff finds the proposed building height is consistent with existing buildings in the CityGate Campus, including the adjacent 5-story apartment building, 7-story office building, 12-story hotel building, and 5-story parking deck. The petitioner’s responses to the standards for granting a deviation to the PUD are attached. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Lot Area Deviation
The petitioner requests a deviation from Section 6-7F-5 (OCI District: Area Requirement) to reduce the required lot area for multi-family dwelling units. Per Code, the lot area for a structure consisting of multi-family dwellings shall not be less than the number of dwelling units times 2,600 square feet [of lot area]. This code requirement is not intended to impose a minimum interior/livable square footage requirement for each residential unit proposed. Rather, the lot area requirement is used as a means of controlling density, as well as the bulk of the building. Inversely applied, this calculation establishes the maximum number of units that are permitted per acre (1 acre or 43,560 square feet of land divided by 2,600 square feet of land required per unit = 16.75 units/acre).
The proposed development consists of 297 units on approximately 217,800 square feet of lot area, which equates to approximately 730 square feet per dwelling unit:
217,800 square feet or 4.97 acres (Lot Area) /
297 (Number of Units)_____________________________________
730 square feet of lot area per unit (or approximately 59.8 units/acre)
Based on the Code requirement, the petitioner would be permitted to construct 83 units on the 217,800 square foot subject property.
Findings of Fact
As noted above, the purpose of the lot area requirement is to control density and building mass, however, this metric is only used for residential land uses. Floor area ratio (FAR) is an appropriate metric for measuring density and building mass regardless of land use. The existing buildings in the CityGate campus and PUD contain office, hotel, retail, restaurant use, and existing residential uses and the PUD as a whole will continue to comply with the maximum allowable FAR of 1.5 in the OCI zone. Staff finds the proposed building mass is comparable to the existing campus and that the proposed building complies with OCI setbacks and OCI FAR, for both the subject property and in the entire PUD. The petitioner’s responses to the standards for granting a deviation to the PUD are attached. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Parking Deviation
The petitioner also requests a deviation from Section 6-9-3:1 (Off-Street Parking Facilities: Residential Uses) to reduce the required number of parking spaces. Per Code, multi-family buildings require 2 parking spaces, as well as 0.25 designated guest parking spaces, per dwelling unit. As such, the proposed 297-unit building is required to provide 594 parking spaces for residents and 74 designated spaces for guests for a total of 668 parking spaces. The petitioner is providing 369 residential spaces (about one space per bedroom or 1.24 spaces per unit) and 53 designated guest spaces (about 0.18 spaces per unit), which is 246 spaces less than required by Code.
In order to support the deviation request, the petitioner submitted a parking study which included data from other similar multi-family developments in Naperville and found that resident parking for the proposed development is provided at a ratio of one parking space per bedroom and is consistent with other recently approved multifamily residential developments within the City.
The parking study also provided an analysis of parking capacity in the overall CityGate campus to determine that adequate parking would be provided in the PUD as a whole. The study found that:
• Existing leasing data for the Domain CityGate apartment building indicates an average resident parking demand of approximately 1.2 spaces per occupied unit, resulting in surplus parking within the existing parking garage.
• Guest parking permit records show low guest parking demand, with an average of five permits issued per day and a maximum of 20 permits issued at one time, equivalent to approximately 0.07 guest spaces per unit. The proposed development is providing 0.18 guest parking spaces per unit.
• Surplus parking available within the Calamos parking garage will adequately accommodate the displacement of non-reserved parking from the surface parking lot that will be eliminated as part of the proposed development.
Findings of Fact
Staff finds the data provided in the parking study indicates that the proposed parking space supply is sufficient for the proposed development and that the removal of the existing 79-space surface parking lot on the subject property will not adversely affect overall parking supply for the CityGate campus and is in support of the deviation request subject to the following condition:
In the event that the parking needs cannot be accommodated within the proposed parking supply on the Subject Property, the Petitioner and Owner shall take measures, such as constructing additional parking spaces or establishing an overflow parking location off-site, as necessary, to meet the parking demands of the Subject Property, subject to review and approval by the Zoning Administrator.
The petitioner’s responses to the standards for granting a deviation to the PUD are attached. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Platted Setback Deviation
The petitioner proposes a platted setback deviation to allow a portion of the proposed apartment building and relocated pickleball court to be constructed within the 30’ platted setback line along Westings Avenue and Comfort Drive that was previously platted through the CityGate Centre Plat of Subdivision (recorded in DuPage County as Document R2000-110800). Section 7-1-13:2 of the Municipal Code allows City Council to grant a deviation from a platted building or setback line if the request is in harmony with the intent and character of the subdivision and complies with the required standards.
The platted setback is more restrictive than the OCI zoning district required 20’ corner side yard setback identified in Section 6-7F-7 (Yard Requirements) of the Code. As a result, compliance with the platted setback would require the petitioner to shift the building back an additional 10’, which is inconsistent with the City’s current zoning code, and would reduce the interior amenity space. It would also impact the provision of the pickleball court amenity on the property.
Findings of Fact
Since the platted setback line is more restrictive than the zoning setback and the building will comply with the underlying OCI zoning requirements, staff supports the requested deviation. The petitioner’s responses to the standards for granting a subdivision deviation can be found in the attachments. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings. The petitioner’s platted setback deviation request is not reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and therefore information on this request is provided for reference only. The request will be heard by City Council at a subsequent meeting date.
Pickleball Court Deviations
In addition to the platted setback deviation, the petitioner is requesting a deviation to Code Sections 6-2-10:2 (Accessory Buildings, Structures and Uses of Land: Yard Requirements) and 6-2-12:2.1 (Fences: Business Districts) to permit a pickleball court and associated screening fence to be located in the 20’ corner side yard setback along Westings Avenue. The pickleball court and 10’ screening fence will encroach 9’ into the 20’ corner side yard, which is approximately 79 square feet (or 4%) of the pickleball court.
Findings of Fact
Staff is supportive of the requested deviations as the proposed location of the pickleball court is the only practical placement for relocating the court, thereby preserving the amenity on the property. The petitioner’s responses to the standards for granting a deviation to the PUD are attached. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Retaining Wall Deviation
The petitioner is requesting a deviation to Code Section 6-2-12:2.1 (Fences: Business Districts) to permit a retaining wall to be located in the 20’ corner side yard setback along Comfort Drive. The proposed retaining wall is located along Comfort Drive, both north and south of the parking garage entrance, and is a maximum 10’ in height plus the 42” fall protection fencing that sits atop of the retaining wall (for a total of 13.5’).
The retaining wall was not originally proposed in previous iterations of the submitted plans. During plan review, the Fire Department requested the building be shifted about 10’ to the east (toward Comfort Drive) to accommodate emergency access. However, the 10’ shift provided less room to match grades along Comfort Drive, requiring the requested retaining wall. While the building complies with the required 20’ required corner side yard setback, the retaining wall and fence encroach a maximum of 7.5’ into the required setback along Comfort Drive.
Findings of Fact
Staff is supportive of the requested deviation due to the origin of the request to accommodate emergency access and the grading limitations of the property. The petitioner’s responses to the standards for granting a deviation to the PUD are attached. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Key Takeaways
• The petitioner is requesting a major change to the CityGate Centre PUD to approve a revised PUD plat with deviations to increase the building height, to reduce the number of parking spaces and lot area, to permit a pickleball court and retaining wall in the required setbacks; a deviation from the platted setbacks; and a conditional use to permit multi-family dwelling units.
• Staff is supportive of the requests, finding that the proposed building will facilitate a mixed-use campus.