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Rendering concept for the proposed home 📸 Credit: St. Charles Plan Commission agenda document
After three public hearings (and some pushback from neighbors), the St. Charles Plan Commission voted 6-2 on May 19 to recommend approval of a proposed senior care home on Route 31.
The project now heads to the Committee of the Whole and is expected to be taken up at a future meeting.
Here's what to know:
The proposal: Troy Horbach of Wilby Properties, LLC wants to build an 11,564-square-foot, single-story “large group home” at 5N024 Route 31 to house up to 16 seniors, with at least 80% of residents required to be 55 or older.
How the facility works: The facility would operate under an Illinois "shared housing establishment" license, meaning it provides around-the-clock personal care assistance but not skilled nursing. Each resident would have their own bedroom and bathroom. The project also includes a 15-stall parking lot, a circular driveway, an on-site walking path, and a bike path along Route 31.
Voting considerations: Six commissioners voted yes, two voted no. One official said they were unable to make the required affirmative findings on public convenience, sufficient infrastructure, and general welfare (required for recommending approval). The commission added conditions to its recommendation relating to motion-sensing lights in the parking lot, landscaping trees, and language tying the permit specifically to the state's “shared housing establishment” definition.
Neighbor opposition: Multiple residents near the property submitted written objections before the hearing and two spoke at the May 19 meeting, raising concerns about traffic on Route 31, property values, and the scale of an 11,000-square-foot building in a single-family neighborhood.
The property currently has no water main access, so the developer would be required to extend a water main from Abbeywood Drive to the south, up Route 31, and loop it through the site. Staff said that cost would fall entirely on the developer.
St. Charles currently has no large group homes operating under a special use permit, according to city staff. Small group homes (those with eight or fewer residents) are allowed by right in residential districts and don't require the approval process this project underwent.
Learn more about the proposed project.
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