PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Conduct the public hearing to consider a new day care center building in the River Woods Office Campus Planned Unit Development for property located at 628 N River Road (Cypress School) - PZC 24-1-067
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Anna Franco, Community Planner
ENTITLEMENTS REQUESTED:
1. A Major Change to the River Woods Office Campus Planned Unit Development (PUD), including an amended Final Plat of PUD.
2. A Conditional Use pursuant to Section 6-7B-3 (B2 Community Shopping Center District /Conditional Uses) for a daycare center.
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
Official notice for the public hearing for PZC 24-1-067 was published in the Naperville Sun on Sunday, November 3, 2024.
BACKGROUND:
The subject property is an approximately 7.8-acre office campus known as River Woods Office Campus located at the northeast corner of River Road and Millennium Drive and is zoned B2 Community Shopping Center with a PUD. Adjacent uses include McDonalds and Oil Zone/Wash Zone to the south across Millenium Drive, StoryPoint assisted living facility and McDowell Grove Forest Preserve to the east, single-family residential in unincorporated DuPage County to the north, and Meadowbrook Manor and Northwestern Medicine Immediate Care across River Road to the west.
The final planned unit development plat for the River Woods Office Campus PUD was approved March 19, 2008, with passage of Ordinance No. 08-055, and approved the development of six single-story office buildings with a total of approximately 73,800 square feet of floor area situated on a single lot. Currently, four of the six buildings have been constructed, along with site amenities such as parking, landscaping, site lighting, the existing stormwater detention facility, and current tenants primarily consist of professional office and medical office users.
DISCUSSION:
The petitioner and owner of the property, BHC Construction LLC, requests approval of a Major Change to a PUD to amend the underlying PUD and a Conditional Use to facilitate the construction and operation of a child day care center, to be known as the Cypress School, on parcel “F” of the River Woods PUD. Parcel “F” is currently vacant and consists of 1.19 acres and has a common address of 628 N River Road. It is the southeastern most parcel in the PUD and is adjacent to the existing detention facility on the property.
Staff supports the requested Major Change to the River Woods Office Campus PUD and the Conditional Use for a daycare center and has provided details on each of the requests below.
Major Change to the River Woods Office Campus PUD & Final Plat of PUD
The six-buildings in the River Woods Office Campus PUD were originally approved for office-only uses. However, due to the decrease in the need for office space nationwide, the petitioner states that the demand for leasing office space is inadequate, especially at the prices necessary to support the construction of the building. Therefore, the petitioner requests approval of a Major Change to the River Woods Office Campus PUD and a Final Plat of PUD to grant approval of a conditional use for a daycare center building on the property, a change to the land use designation on parcel “F” from office to “office/daycare” and approve certain site plan changes to allow the daycare play areas on the property.
The proposed 1-story daycare center building is approximately 14,000 square feet with a building footprint that is consistent with the original building footprint proposed for parcel “F” in the River Woods Office Campus PUD. The proposed building architecture matches the prairie style design of the existing buildings in the River Woods campus and consists of high-quality brick and cast stone materials. The school choose this location within the River Woods development for the ability to provide a 5,200 square foot fenced in playground area and a 1,150 square foot fenced in grass play lawn at the southeast corner of the building, which had previously been approved for common open space within the PUD. Site plan changes to accommodate the proposed play areas are reflected in the attached site plan and Final PUD Plat and the petitioner has submitted a landscape plan to show that they are meeting the City’s landscaping requirements.
The petitioner is not proposing any changes to the existing parking configuration. Staff finds the that the existing parking is sufficient to serve the proposed school and meet the parking requirement of four parking spaces per each 1,000 gross square feet of floor area.
Findings of Fact
Per the Naperville Municipal Code Section 6-4-6:1 (Changes to a Final Planned Unit Development: Major Change), a major change to the existing PUD is required to approve a conditional use and change the designation of land use identified in an approved planned unit development (office) to a use which is not consistent with the Statement of Intent and Concept approved for the planned unit development (daycare center). Staff finds the proposed daycare center use is a creative and appropriate use to address vacant land within the development and finds that the associated site plan changes meet the requirements and standards of the planned unit development regulations.
The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting or Amending a Planned Unit Development can be found in the attachments. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Conditional Use for a Daycare Center
The Cypress School is a start-up early childhood center that provides a variety of full-time, part-time, and summer camp options. The school is designed to care for and educate children from infants to school-aged children and can accommodate 200 children throughout the day with approximately 30-35 teachers and staff. Hours of operation will be generally from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, which is consistent with other daycare facilities in Naperville. Parents will be required to park their cars and go into the building to drop off and pick-up their children and arrivals and departures will be interspersed through the day, so the school does not anticipate a high volume of cars parking in the parking lot at any given time. Code required parking is provided for the facility within the existing River Woods parking lot and the property enjoys convenient transportation access to River Road via Millenium Drive.
As mandated by DCFS, daycare centers are required to provide an outdoor area. The petitioner’s proposed outdoor play areas are located east of the proposed building and will be entirely fenced in. The perimeter fence of the outdoor play areas is over 130 feet from the closest building wall of the of the adjacent StoryPoint assisted living facility.
Pursuant to Section 6-7B-3 of the Municipal Code (B2 District: Conditional Uses), a daycare center is a conditional use in the B2 zoning district. Staff finds the proposed daycare center is consistent with the intent of the B2 district and is compatible with the variety of adjacent land uses. The day care center use will also allow development of a parcel that has been undeveloped for over 15 years.
Findings of Fact
The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Conditional Use, as well as additional information regarding the proposed day care facility is attached. Upon review, staff is in agreement with the petitioner’s Findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Key Takeaways
• The petitioner requests approval of Major Change to the River Woods Office Campus PUD, including an amended Final Plat of PUD, and a Conditional Use pursuant to Section 6-7B-3 to allow for the construction of a new daycare center building on the property at 628 N River Road.
• Staff is in support of the requests and has attached the petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting or Amending a Planned Unit Development and Granting a Conditional Use.