Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting – October 15, 2025
Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting – October 15, 2025
The Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) met on October 15, 2025, at 7:00 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting covered three public hearings: a variance request for 557 S. Washington Street (DJK Design Studio), a conditional use and PUD plat for the Benton + Main development (109 W. Benton Ave. et al.), and a continued hearing for the Karis Critical Data Centers project at 1960 Lucent Lane. The commission also approved the minutes from the October 1, 2025 meeting. The meeting adjourned at 11:02 PM.
Public Comments & Testimony
- 557 S. Washington Street (DJK Design Studio): No members of the public spoke on this item.
- Benton + Main (109 W. Benton Ave. et al.): Three residents spoke in opposition. Chris Carlson (130 W. Franklin) opposed the density, height, and lot coverage, stating the building would be a 46 ft wall adjacent to his property. Richard Lowry (owner of the corner property) opposed several entitlement requests, particularly the reduced front setback, increased height, and building depth, and requested that the development conform to base zoning. Alice Goodman (27 N. Main St.) requested that the project meet existing zoning requirements, especially for parking, and expressed concern about the character of the development.
- Karis Critical Data Centers (1960 Lucent Lane): Fifteen residents and organization representatives spoke in opposition. Speakers included Trey McCallister (Democratic Socialists of America), Max Watkins (scientist at Argonne National Lab), Aaron Gallagher (software engineer), Guillermo Rodriguez, Sara Baugh, Gary Peck, Robin Schmidt, Julian Szucko, Hamilton Chy, Dan Johnson, Marilyn Schweitzer, Barbara Benson (chair of Naperville Environment and Sustainability Task Force), Tim Ferritto, Joseph Lambert, and Patrick Farella. Key concerns included: noise pollution (low-frequency constant hum), health impacts, increased electricity rates, environmental degradation, diesel generator emissions, water usage, property value decline, and inconsistency with the city’s land use master plan. Several speakers advocated for a six-month moratorium on data centers.
Discussion Items
- 557 S. Washington Street (DJK Design Studio): Staff and petitioner (Mike Roth, attorney) presented a request for two variances: to reduce the required side yard setback (from 5 ft to an average of 2.35 ft) to allow a 20 ft driveway, and to allow more than 25% of the required rear yard to be occupied by parking (about 65% occupied). The property will be converted from a residential structure to an office for DJK Design. Staff supported the variances. Commissioners expressed support for the improvements, ADA compliance, and landscaping. The vote was 9–0 in favor.
- Benton + Main (109 W. Benton Ave. et al.): Staff and petitioner (Russ Whitaker, attorney for MI Homes) presented a request for a conditional use (PUD) and a preliminary/final PUD plat with five deviations: reduce minimum lot size, reduce rear yard setback, reduce front yard setback (from 15 ft to 10 ft), increase building height (from 35 ft to 46 ft), and allow more than 25% of rear yard to be occupied (parking). The project proposes 11 townhome units on 0.82 acres. Staff supported the request, citing consistency with the Downtown 2030 Plan. Commissioners discussed the number of variances, adjacency to single-family homes, parking, stormwater, and building height. The petitioner emphasized the density context and the transition from downtown. The commission voted 7–2 to recommend approval, with Commissioners Bansal and Castagnoli dissenting.
- Karis Critical Data Centers (1960 Lucent Lane): The hearing was reconvened from September 3, 2025. Staff (Sara Kopinski) and petitioner (Russ Whitaker) presented revised plans: elimination of Phase 2, reduction to a single 36 MW building, 24 generators (down from 48), and a “Karis Critical Stewardship Pledge” covering responsible operations, renewable power, local investment, environmentally conscious design, and oversight. Key commitments: no crypto mining, purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) for 100% of IT load, use of Tier 4 generators, air-cooled closed-loop chiller system (minimal water use), dark sky compliant lighting, and an e-waste recycling program. The city’s third-party noise consultant (Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick) found the noise impact assessment compliant with city code but recommended comparing to Illinois Pollution Control Board standards. Public testimony was strongly opposed. After hearing public comments, the commission decided to continue the hearing to the next meeting due to time constraints.
Key Outcomes
- 557 S. Washington Street (DEV-0094-2025): The public hearing was closed at 7:11 PM. The commission voted 9–0 to adopt the findings of fact and recommend approval of the two variances.
- Benton + Main (DEV-0109-2025): The public hearing was closed at 8:40 PM. The commission voted 7–2 (Abubaker, Longenbaugh, McDaniel, Naumes, Richelia, Robbins, Wright aye; Bansal, Castagnoli nay) to adopt the findings of fact and recommend approval of the conditional use and PUD plat with the five deviations.
- Karis Critical Data Centers (DEV-0057-2025): The public hearing was continued to the November 5, 2025 PZC meeting (note: the meeting minutes state a vote to continue to November 4, but a corrected notice set the date for November 5, 2025). The meeting was extended to 11:15 PM to allow additional testimony. The commission directed the petitioner to save further clarification for the next meeting.
- Minutes Approval: The minutes of the October 1, 2025 PZC meeting were approved by voice vote.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. I would like to call the planning and zoning commission meeting for October 15th, 2025 to order. First, I would like to welcome our new commissioner, Alison Longenbach. Welcome, Commissioner. Secretary Wright, please conduct roll call. Albu Baker, here. Bonzel? Here. Costa Gnoli? Here. Long and ball? Here. McDaniel. Here. Namas? Here. Ricellia? Present. Robins? Here. Wright is here. Madam Chair, we have a quorum. Great. Thank you. The first order of business tonight is the public forum. During the public forum forum, members of the public have the opportunity to address the planning and zoning commission on issues which are not part of tonight's agenda. Please keep your comments limited to three minutes. Also, for the sake of all those in attendance, please refrain from slack clapping or shouting out in response to comments made by any speaker. Secretary Wright, do we have anyone signed up for public forums? We have no one. Also, for the sake of all of those in attendance, please refrain from clapping or shouting out in response to comments made by any speaker. Following the public testimony, the petitioner will provide closing remarks just prior to the closure of the public hearing. No further public testimony will be taken after the petitioner begins its closing remarks or during the planning and zoning commission's deliberation. I will now swear in any members of the public wishing to speak. For those who wish to provide testimony, please stand up. I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. The existing structure on the subject property is approximately 1,865 square feet in size, which upon conversion to an office space requires a minimum of six parking spaces to be provided on site. The petitioner plans to add eight parking spaces. The property is relatively small with limited buildable area to add parking facilities. The existing structure is located approximately 22 feet from the south property line at the narrowest point, which is where the petitioner plans to construct a new driveway access to provide adequate space for two-way traffic. Staff is requiring a minimum aisle width of 20 feet, resulting in a setback averaging approximately 2.35 feet due to the location of the existing structure. The municipal code requires parking facilities to maintain a five-foot setback adjacent to a property line, thus approval of a variance is needed. Staff is supportive of the setback variants as proposed. Finding it allows for the safe and efficient movement of vehicles on the site while remaining compatible with the adjacent non-residential property. Planned improvements also include adding spark parking spaces within the subject property's required rear yard. Section 6210 of the code states that accessory structures shall not occupy more than 25% of a required rear yard. The petitioner seeks approval of a variance to allow approximately 65% of the rear yard to be occupied. The building will continue to comply with the TU district's required setbacks, which helps ensure visual bulk will not be a concern for neighboring properties. An existing six-foot wooden fence will visually screen the rear yard from neighbor neighboring properties, and the petitioner has agreed to install a row of six-foot-tall arborviety along the rear property line. Staff is supportive of this variance request as well, since the rear yard encroachments consist only of uncovered impervious space.
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