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Project site rendering. 📸 Credit: St. Charles Plan Commission agenda packet
The St. Charles Committee of the Whole declined to advance the latest version of the Shops at Pheasant Run redevelopment plan during its August 17 meeting, after two motions to recommend approval failed.
The project, which had been recommended for approval by the Plan Commission in July, is now stalled after an alderperson said more than 80 residents submitted written objections to the city.
Here's what to know:
Two motions, no recommendation: The committee first considered a version capped at seven drive-thrus with no car wash allowed, which failed. A follow-up motion capping the project at five drive-thrus (also barring a car wash and a truck stop) did not advance either.
View from the community: Resident speakers and several committee members raised a mix of concerns, including the large number of drive-thrus (up to eight in the original plan), the effect on traffic and safety, and worries about the site becoming another auto-oriented strip rather than a walkable "gateway" to the city. Others expressed concerns about allowing a 24-hour gas station and/or truck stop.
Tenants and TIF items: Chase Bank, Dutch Bros Coffee, and Valvoline remain among the confirmed tenants, and a McGrath-owned car dealership is still a possibility. The developer had requested property tax increment financing (TIF) between $3.3 million and $4.8 million depending on the outcome of the meeting. No TIF decision was made.
Without a recommendation from the Committee of the Whole, the project has no clear path forward. The committee did not specify when or whether the project will return for further consideration.
“I am expecting something unique and something different,” one official said. “So far, what’s being presented hasn’t been unique and different.”
Learn more from these project documents (starting on page 56) and watch the full meeting recording.
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